Legend of the Silver Shinobi
by Kog6943
Summary: Did you know? Every legend was inspired by something. And while not all legends may be true…There are those legends that ARE based on the achievements of real people. Real men and women. People who have transcended all others, becoming something…more. They become a legend...The scary part? Some legends never die.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I'm just a broke college student...**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Biju/Deity Talking: **"Insert witty remark here."**

Biju/Deity Thinking: _**'Insert witty remark here.'**_

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **-Did you know? Every legend has something that inspired it.** **-**

" _This world…I won't let it end!"_

 **-** **And while not** **every** **legend may be true…** **-**

" _If there's still life in me…If there is still a will to beat you…If I still have people to fight for…As long as there is a_ shred _of hope…I will_ never! Give! Up! _"_

 **-** **There are those legends that** _ **are**_ **based on the achievements of real people.** **-**

"… _I'm just a stupid kid and there are many things I don't really understand...But I know what 'friends' are. And I want to protect them…That's all."_

"… _Is that your answer?"_

 **-** **Real men and women.** **-**

" _That must be the lady that Sage-jiji was talking about…Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"_

 **-** **People who have transcended all others, becoming something…more.** **-**

" _She...She absorbed it all! This power...it's unreal! How can something like this actually exist?!"_

 **-** **They become a legend.** **-**

" _Sasuke?! What are you doing?!"_

" _Naruto…I thank you for all that you've done up until this point…But now, your usefulness has come to an end."_

" _What?!"_

" _Actually…There is one last thing that you can do…Surrender your power to me!"_

 **-** **But what qualifies one to legendary status?** **-**

" _Damn it…_ Damn it! _I…I can't let it end…I won't let him win! I won't…let them die!"_

" _ **Do you desire the power to protect?"**_

" _Huh…?"_

" _ **I can grant you such a thing…But it may come at a cost…"**_

" _I don't care! Whatever it takes!"_

"… _ **Very well…I bestow upon you the knowledge needed to complete the task…"**_

 **-** **Is it their heroics? Their strength of heart?** **-**

" _No…No, what are you doing?!"_

" _Sasuke…I loved you like a brother…Even after everything that has happened…After everything_ you've _done, that has never changed…"_

" _No, stop!"_

" _But now…Now you've gone too far!"_

" _Don't do it!"_

" _I'm sorry for what I'm about to do…_ _ **Seal**_ _!"_

" _Narutooooo!"_

" _You've brought this upon yourself! We could have done this together!"_

…

"… _There…It's…done…"_

 **-** **Or is it how long the person is remembered?** **-**

" _Naruto…Your eyes!"_

" _Yeah…It's one of the side effects. At first, I thought it was because I'm now_ its _host…But now, I feel like that might not be the entire reason."_

"' _One of the side effects'? What else is there?"_

" _Honestly? I'm not sure…I don't_ think _I feel any different, but at the same time, I_ know _that something about me has changed."_

" _Well…It's troublesome, but whatever happens, we will be by your side the entire time."_

" _You guys…Thanks."_

"… _But really, silver eyes?"_

" _Shut up, Kiba! My new eyes are awesome!"_

 **-** **Would it be the diamond jubilee? Perhaps golden? Or even silver?** **-**

" _Crap! I'm sorry about that!"_

" _No, no! It was my fault! Here, let me help you with those."_

" _Th…Thanks…"_

"… _Is there something on my face?"_

" _Ah, sorry! It's just that your eyes are very...eye catching."_

 _"Hahaha. Thanks, I guess…But I have to admit, your eyes are pretty cool, too."_

" _What's this? Are you flirting with me?"_

" _Wha-No! That's not what I was doing! It never even crossed my mind!"_

" _And why not? Is there something wrong with the idea?"_

" _Not at all! You're super pretty! Uh, I mean-"_

" _Oh, relax a bit. I'm just messing with you!"_

" _You…You…"_

" _Nice blush you got there, Silver. You going to introduce yourself at some point?"_

"' _Silver'? Whatever…I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"_

" _Nice to meet you, Naruto…But I think I'm going to stick with Silver."_

" _But…Fine, I don't mind. What about you? You got a name, Amber?"_

" _Great job copying a trend I just made. If you must know, my name is-"_

 **-** **There exist countless legends of all ages.** **-**

" _So…How are you and your lady friend doing? You become…intimate yet?"_

" _Mind your own business, you pervy-Hokage!"_

" _Hehehe…I'm just asking as a concerned sensei."_

" _Concerned sensei my ass!"_

 **-** **Legends of wizards. Legends of mages. Legends of gladiators. Legends of shinobi. Legends of warriors.** **-**

" _There have been an increasing number of reports of attacks."_

" _What is it? Another skirmish?"_

" _No. According to the reports, the attacks are done by some sort of animals…"_

" _Summons?"_

" _No one is sure. They don't look like any summons previously seen before."_

" _Then what the hell are they? And where did they come from?"_

" _It's unclear. At first, they were only on a remote island relatively close to the Land of Whirlpools, but they have been spreading…A name for them has been spreading around as well…The Grimm."_

"… _The Grimm…"_

 **-** **The list goes on and on.** **-**

" _How do you feel?"_

" _I just gave birth to two kids…How do you think I feel?"_

" _Ah, I guess that was a little dumb…"_

" _You're fine, love."_

" _Uzumaki-san? Here are your children. Congratulations, you are now the parents of two beautiful girls."_

" _I…I don't know what to say…"_

" _I'm also having a little trouble catching up to it…"_

" _I'm…I'm a father!"_

" _And I'm a mother!"_

"… _Look…She has your eyes."_

" _And her sister has your eyes."_

"… _I love you. All three of you."_

" _And I love you three…What do you think their names should be?"_

 **-** **To gain the status of "Legend" and have your story told through the generations is simply amazing.** **-**

"… _What…? No, that can't be right. I_ must _have misheard you."_

"…"

" _Baa-chan! Say something! You didn't just say that, right?!"_

" _Naruto, you heard what I said! I've run the test a thousand times, but it always ends up the same!"_

" _But…But how?"_

" _If I had to guess, it is because of_ it _."_

"… _Another side effect…That must be it. I didn't put much thought into it; I just thought my Uzumaki heritage made it less noticeable…But…?"_

" _Exactly, it wasn't that your Uzumaki genes made you age slower…Naruto, you have stopped aging,_ period _."_

 **-** **Most legends are forgotten in time, becoming nothing more than lore and stories told to children.** **-**

" _You're wrong!"_

" _No, I'm not!"_

" _Why can't you see that they're a threat?! They need to be destroyed!"_

" _Why can't_ you _see that they are the next step for humanity?! For_ progress?! _"_

" _Because they aren't! The Grimm have been slowly spreading for over twenty years! Wiping out anything and anyone they come across as they do!"_

" _The fact that they have managed to do that, despite having the world against them,_ proves _that there is potential for us to learn something! That they have some worth to them!"_

" _Nothing that we can learn from these things would be worth it!"_

" _You're just too scared to see the truth!"_

" _And_ you're _just too focused on an impossible goal to see the danger!"_

" _Enough! Both of you, stop arguing!"_

" _Tou-san…"_

" _Otou-sama…"_

" _Listen, whether the Grimm should be destroyed or controlled, the two of you need to stop fighting! You're sisters…I've seen enough of family members fighting one another in my life."_

"… _Otou-sama, who do you agree with?"_

" _I'm sorry?"_

" _She asked whose side you are on…And I must admit that I want to know the answer to that as well."_

" _I'm not taking a side here. Now both of you, go to your rooms."_

"…"

"…"

" _*Sigh* What is going on with those two?"_

" _Naruto…"_

" _It'll be fine, love. I'm sure it will get better."_

" _Are you telling me that? Or yourself?"_

" _Both, I suppose…"_

" _Well regardless of who you are telling that to, it will get better. We just have to help them through it…Silver."_

"… _I stopped calling you Amber, why do you keep calling me that?"_

" _Because you have yet to convince me that you honestly don't like it."_

"…"

 **-** … **The scary part?** **-**

" _No, no, no, no, no,_ No! _Please, don't!"_

" _S…Silver. It's fine…"_

" _How is this fine?!"_

" _I've…had a long…and happy life…I don't regret a thing…"_

" _But…"_

" _Shush…I don't…mind and I…don't want you to…either…"_

" _I've spent so long with you…I don't want to go back to life without you…"_

" _You…knew this was coming…It's been…obvious for a while…now…"_

"…"

" _Listen to me, Silver…I want you to…promise me something…Consider it…a final wish…"_

" _F…Fine…"_

" _Thank you…I want you to promise…that you won't…ever give up on your goal…"_

" _That's it?"_

" _That's it…I've always admired you…and your drive…Don't let your will…ever fully die out…I know it may be hard sometimes…I know it is even harder…for you with your condition…but please…"_

" _Of course!"_

" _Thank…you…I think that…I'm fully out of time…now…"_

" _But…No…"_

" _Silver, really…It's fine…You know how I…feel about overly cheesy lines…But I will always…live on in your heart…"_

" _Yeah…I know…"_

" _I love you…Naruto…"_

 **-** **Some legends never die.** **-**

* * *

A pair of silver eyes cracked open, only to quickly shut again when they hit sunlight. Groaning, the owner of the silver eyes raised a hand to block the light. "Morning already…" He muttered. With a grunt, he pushed himself into a sitting position. "I swear; it's only been a few minutes…" He glanced around the single room of the cabin before finally resting his eyes on a mirror on top of a dresser.

In the reflection of the mirror was a man who appeared to be in his late teens with bright, sunny hair, somewhat tan skin, and three whisker birthmarks on either cheek. Staring back at the man was a tired pair of silver eyes.

Heaving a sigh, the man tiredly rubbed his eyes. "That dream again…" Why did he always get dreams like that around this time of year? Wasn't simply knowing the date bad enough? Why relive some of the hardest moments of his life? The happy ones were fine, but the war? The fights between his daughters?

The death of his wife?

Shaking his head, the man turned his body until his feet hit the cold wood of the floor. "I'm awake now…Might as well get moving." He stayed in this location long enough. It started as small habit, one that was part of being a sage, but after some time, he started to dislike staying in a single place for too long. Unless he had a reason, the man usually left after a week. The only reason he had stayed in this cabin as long as he has was because he knew with the old man it used to belong to.

In fact, the last time he stayed in one place for an extended period of time was over a decade ago…

Walking over to the dresser, the man opened it and began rummaging through for a clean pair of pants. Finding what he was looking for in the form of simple, black pants, he slipped them on over his boxers and turned to the next drawer over. He soon found a white, long sleeve shirt with an orange Uzumaki swirl on the back.

Now fully clothed, the man rolled up his right sleeve and gathered his personal items in the room, sealing them all onto a seal he had on his upper arm. "All set…" Grabbing the sack on the table, the man slung it over his shoulder and moved towards the door, only pausing to slip on his boots before walking out.

The man squinted and shielded his eyes from the blinding sun. "Damn it, I really hate that thing." Once his eyes adjusted, he took one last look around, knowing that he probably wouldn't come back here for a while. Unbidden, a small smile formed on his face at the scene.

The cabin the man had been sleeping in sat in the middle of a deep forest, way out of the way of any civilization. Due to the length of time that the cabin had been there, vines could be seen overgrowing the walls to the point that they framed some of the windows. Running through the small clearing was a large river which, at one point, provided water to the now unattended garden.

Overall, the property deeply needed some repair and improving, but the man didn't mind. Watching a small bird land on the fence of the garden, his smile grew a bit. While it was true that the place could be considered somewhat run-down, it was the nature of the place that helped the man feel at peace there. It was somewhat difficult to find such a pure place, untouched in _any_ form.

Taking one last glance at the place, the man smiled sadly. As much as he liked it here, it also brought back some sad memories. In the past, he had often visited the old man that lived here. At first, the old bastard was a grumpy thing, but he mellowed as the man kept on coming back to visit. The old man's temperament improved even more after those four girls also started to visit once a year.

Shaking his head to clear away the old memories, the man began to make his way down the path leading from the cabin and into the forest.

* * *

 **Later**

"Hey, did you hear? There's been another raid." Mentally perking up in interest, the man took another sip of his glass and listened in on the conversation on the other end of the bar.

"Yeah, I did…They're really getting gutsy, huh?" A patron replied.

Nodding in agreement, the other patron took a swig of his cup. "Yeah. Honestly, I'm getting a little scared about the entire thing."

"What? How come?"

"Moron. Did you forget where I work?" The speaker's friend took on a sheepish smile. "Exactly."

"But you work in the local labs of the company…Why would the White Fang target there? As far as I've heard, they've been focusing on the locations with dust." Seeing the logic in these words, the other person nodded.

"True enough, but I'm still worried…"

"I guess that's a normal reaction…"

Hearing that the interesting part of the conversation ended, the man stopped listening in, instead letting his own mind wander.

' _The White Fang…I can't believe that they've fallen so far. I used to actually respect them.'_ The man shook his head with a quiet sigh. The treatment of the Faunus population somewhat reminded the man of his own treatment in childhood. Because of this, he had sympathized with the pro-Faunus group…Until it had become a terrorist organization.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was sure that it would only make matters worse, the man would have taken care of the renegade peace group already. But he knew that such a thing would end in either one of two ways. Either the action would be seen as a human taking out a group of Faunus, and therefore supporting the treatment…Or it would be seen as some higher up ordering an attack that was essentially the start of another war between the humans and faunas.

Annoyed at his own inability to do something for fear of backlash, the man took a deep swig of his drink.

' _War…It always comes back to war.'_ The man had thought -hoped- that the peace created in the aftermath of the Fourth Great Shinobi War would last…But it didn't. Sure, it could be considered one of the longest periods of time in the history of the -then- Elemental Nations, but conflict erupted again.

At first, it was nothing major. A small skirmish here, maybe a small fight over how things should be done there…But the biggest blow came when the Grimm were accepted as a valid threat. No one knew where the creatures had come from, or why they were there. The sudden appearance of something that came in many forms, seemed to grow smarter and stronger as time went on, and only wanted to destroy tipped the balance.

While unprotected villages and settlements were being destroyed, the ones who _were supposed to be protecting them_ were pointing fingers and assigning blame. It was constantly 'How could you let them slip through your defenses!', or 'There must be _some_ reason that they are only just now showing up!', but the worst one was 'How do I know that _you_ didn't set them there?! These things didn't just come out of nowhere, so who knew about them?!'.

The man's grip on his cup tightened. After everything they've been through together, after defeating something that was arguably a _god_ …They were willing to turn on each other just like that?

Alliances crumbled, friendships shattered…War broke out. And just as the ones before it, this one was bloody. However, it did lead to one of the biggest discoveries about the Grimm…

They were _attracted_ to negative emotions.

All that bloodshed…All that fighting…All that _hatred._ The Grimm couldn't get enough of it. They were attracted to the battles and swarmed every shinobi, no matter which side of the war they were on. While relatively easy to kill individually, the difficulty went up a notch when there was a large group of them. But even that wasn't the biggest problem.

Their ability to _learn_ was.

For every battle a Grimm survived…For every brush with death it had…For every _experience_ it went through, it adapted. It grew stronger. It _learned_ the best way to kill them. Eventually, some of the Grimm got smart enough to only attack after a battle between shinobi, when the humans were at their weakest.

While most of the shinobi were against the Grimm in any way, there were some who saw potential in the creatures. These people saw the Grimm as the newest way to fight. Here they were, these creatures that only seemed to desire destruction and death. Why not use that against their enemies?

And so the Grimm were utilized in the war.

While the Grimm had the perplexing trait of dissolving upon death, transportation was still possible across short distances. And even better than that, it was possible to _lure_ the Grimm to the desired targets. Just start a small attack, something that would surely create a spike of negative emotions, and the Grimm would come running. The fact that people were actively using the Grimm as weapons only made the tensions between countries thicken.

' _Even_ she _was…'_ One of the man's own daughters had been of the mindset that the Grimm had the potential for use. She had even done her best to convince him the same, but the man never came to a conclusion. While his amber eyed daughter wanted to control the Grimm, to study them, his silver eyed daughter only saw them as a threat. She -rightfully- said they were dangerous and needed to be destroyed. And like her sister, she tried to convince their father of that.

…But he was never able to come to a decision. As a person, he _knew_ the Grimm were too dangerous. Something only wanted to kill? Only wanted to destroy? Something like that shouldn't be allowed to exist. However, as someone who was responsible for the wellbeing of his people, the man knew that they came first. While he was a little skeptical that the Grimm could be tamed, it was undeniable that there _was_ some potential in them. Maybe not as a weapon, but if they could be controlled, small groups of them might be able to prove some use.

The man shook his head. _'Stop thinking about the past. It's too late to change it now.'_ No matter how badly he wanted to or how many regrets he had, he couldn't change what already happened.

Suddenly, someone sat on the stool next to the man. "Give me a bottle of the most expensive thing you have…The _entire_ bottle." Raising an eyebrow, the bartender nodded and shuffled off to get the requested item. As he waited, the newcomer spoke up. "So…Come here often?"

The man shrugged lightly. "Not really, no. I'm just passing through."

The newcomer nodded with a hum of interest. "Is that right…? Care to say where exactly you're passing through to?"

"Sorry, but no." It was at that point that the bartender came back with a bottle in his hand. The newcomer smiled and reached for it, but paused when the bartender pulled back with an expectant look.

"Tch. Stingy." Knowing what he wanted, the newcomer fished through a pocket before pulling out a few bills. "Here's your money, now gimme my booze." Quickly counting the money, the bartender handed over the bottle. "Finally…" As if he was in the privacy of his own home, the newcomer opened the bottle and took a long chug. "Ah, now that's good booze."

For half a second, the image of a blond woman with a similar attraction to alcohol entered the man's mind. Quickly pushing the memory out of his head, the man dropped some money on the bar and stood up. "Thanks for the drink." He turned to leave, but was cut off.

"I don't know where you think you're going." The newcomer said. "You and I both know the reason that I'm here."

"And you know what my answer is."

The newcomer shrugged and took another drink. "Possibly, but hear me out first."

"There's nothing for me to hear. The answer is no."

"C'mon~ Please?" He got a flat look. "…Fine. But would you at least stay a bit for a chat?"

Taking a moment to stare in silence, the man sighed before dropping back into his seat. Signaling to the bartender for another shot, the man turned to the newcomer. "What do you want, Qrow?"

Sitting next to him was a man with greying black, spiky hair, and red eyes. His choice of attire consisted of a tattered red cloak, grey dress shirt that had a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. The man had a ring on his right index finger, two rings on his fourth finger, and a pendant with a crooked cross. On his back was some sort of weapon.

The newcomer, Qrow, smirked. "Well, if I'm being totally honest, then I want a scantily dressed, perky, buxom blond to be serving me, not this old dude." The 'old dude' glared as he set a glass down. "Ah, sorry about that…"

" _Qrow_."

Qrow raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright…Sheesh, you need to loosen up a bit. I seem to recall you being a lot more fun the last time we met."

The man grimaced. "Sorry…This isn't a good week for me." Red eyes took on a serious glint.

"…I know you like your privacy, so I won't ask." The man nodded in thanks. Smirking again, Qrow continued. "But wow, you sure do age gracefully, huh? I admit that it's been a while and I'm slightly buzzed, both then and now, but I _swear_ you don't look like you've aged a day." The man shrugged, not responding one way or the other. "In fact, I'd say that you look the same as when you first got dragged in by Summ-"

"Qrow, _just say what you want to say so I can leave._ " The man growled, not liking how he was reminded of _yet_ _another failure._

"…Sure." Qrow set down his bottle and took on a serious look. "Like you guessed, Oz would like for you to rejoin us."

"My answer is no, like _you_ guessed." Qrow was already nodding along before the man could finish speaking.

"I figured you would say that, and so did Oz. That's why he wanted me to inform you of something."

Reluctantly, the man's interest was piqued. "What could you possibly tell me that would convince me to go back with you?"

Qrow momentarily closed his eyes. "Before you get mad or react in any other way, remember that I'm just passing along the message, alright?" The man nodded warily. "You were good friends with Summer." The man tensed. "We don't know why you only ever opened up to her. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that you both have silver eyes, but whatever…There was something that she never told you. Something that Ozpin, for whatever reason, asked her to keep quiet about."

The man nodded slowly. "Go on…"

"You know that she was in a relationship with Taiyang, right? That they were married, despite her not taking on his last name?"

"Yes…?"

"Well…They had a child…A daughter." Once again, the man tensed. "For some reason, Oz asked them to keep quiet about it. He still hasn't told us why, but he did. Summer did as she was asked and didn't spread the fact that she had a daughter around." Qrow smiled fondly. "Ruby Rose has her mother's eyes."

"…Silver?"

"You got it. Ruby is fifteen now."

The man looked down into his glass, but didn't take a drink. "…Why are you telling me this?"

"Two reasons. The first is because Oz thought you would be interested to know that. Why does he think that? Not a clue. The second reason is because I know that you were friends with Summer and the only reason that you stuck around was because of her…It's because of this that I thought you would at least want to meet her daughter." The man closed his eyes at Qrow's words. "So? What do you say?"

"…"

"Sometime today would be ni-"

"Fine…" That single word cut Qrow off. "I'll…go back with you."

Qrow grinned widely. "Good!" He stood up. "We better get moving then! Our bullhead leaves in half an hour!"

The man turned surprised eyes to him. "You already bought a ticket for me?"

"Yep!" Qrow laughed and made his way towards the door. "Now come on!"

Instead of following right away, the man stared. Slowly, a smile formed on his face. "You're still a pain in the ass."

"Maybe so, but I'm also the closest thing you got to a friend in the group. Or do you want to hang out in a bar with Taiyang, instead of me?" The man grimaced. "That's what I thought! Now move it, Naruto! We're gonna be late!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "If we are, it's only 'cause you didn't plan enough time for us to get there."

"Meh, this usually works out well for me."

"Hmph." Getting to his feet, Naruto followed Qrow. "I guess I don't have any right to complain…I would probably do the same."

* * *

 **And we're here! Welcome to Legend of the Silver Shinobi, Chapter 1!**

 **This thing is an idea that came to me after watching the finale of Volume 3, so I decided to act on it. Together with dracohalo117, the co-author/creator/collaborator/idea maker/planner/something, this story was created over the last week and a half. What do you think?**

 **Slightly surprised no one called me out on the unusual caps in the teaser at the end of Embers of a Shinobi, Chapter 14. They were meant to be a small hint about a new story coming, but whatever.**

 **Update schedule…Update schedule…Update schedule…I can see this going either one of two ways. The first is I rotate this, Twilight Key, and Embers of a Shinobi around, releasing a new chapter for whichever one is next every 3-5 days (Basically this would get a chapter every 9-15 days). The other (Which I will try to stick to for at least a while) is that I update this thing every Tuesday or Wednesday.**

 **Can the summary be considered a little half assed? Eh...Just a bit. If I really need to, I'll change it.**

 **No, Ruby is not Naruto's daughter, nor did Summer ever get with Naruto. There was no romance involved there.**

 **Things that will be answered later on:**

 **1) Where did the Grimm come from?**

 **2) Who gave Naruto the ability to for the seal/Why did they do it.**

 **3) …I'm forgetting something…I think…**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	2. Chapter 2

**And we're back! Welcome to Legend of the Silver Shinobi, Chapter 2!**

 **I feel bad for being late in delivering the** _ **second**_ **chapter of the story, but the last two weeks have really sucked. I have finals next week (and one this week) so I'm in complete project/presentation/group/stress/clutch time…Sorry. I could force the chapter, but that would make my writing suck even more than it already does.**

 **Holy crap. This thing is picking up faster than Embers did, that's for sure. And thanks for all of the awesome reviews!**

 **People are asking about a pairing…I haven't really put much (any) thought into it** **. :P As for the few people who suggested one of the girls from team RWBY…What the hell? In fact, is** _ **any**_ **pairing reasonable?**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I'm just a broke college student...**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Biju/Deity Talking: **"Insert witty remark here."**

Biju/Deity Thinking: _**'Insert witty remark here.'**_

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **Beacon Academy**

"Well, here we are." Qrow spun around to face Naruto while spreading his arms wide. The grin on his face grew when he saw the expression on the blond's face. "Welcome to Beacon Academy, Naruto."

Naruto gave Qrow an unimpressed look before sending it toward the large and overly extravagant school. The two of them were standing in the middle of the Main Avenue that led up to the school, so the…majesty of the school was visible from where they stood. There were a few people strewn about the area, but none of them paid Qrow and Naruto any mind.

"I don't know if that's the correct thing to say since I've been here in the past…But thanks for telling me where we are, I guess." Naruto said blandly, amusing Qrow with his lack of reaction.

Qrow lowered his arms with a shrug. "Yeah well, I just figured I might as well say it." He turned and began to walk in the direction of Beacon Tower. "I wasn't sure if you had forgotten what it looks like in the time that you've been away."

Silver eyes trailed along the diverging paths and the fountain until they came to a rest on a large statue depicting two humans standing on a rock outcropping above a Beowolf. "It looks the same as it always has."

"…A lot can change in twelve years when you have no contact with anyone at all, you know." The hidden barb in that remark was not lost on its target.

A small sigh escaped Naruto. "I suppose that is true…" He allowed. Qrow glanced over to him for a moment, but didn't pursue the topic any further. They continued to walk in silence as they entered the tower, but it was eventually broken by Naruto. "Why are we here, Qrow? I said I didn't want to join you people." He only followed Qrow because he told Naruto about Summer's daughter.

"Well, I just thought that as long as you're in the area, you might as well talk with Oz for a bit. Besides, Signal doesn't get out of class for a couple of hours." Qrow's reply and smirk made Naruto sigh again.

"Who should I expect to see when we get to Ozpin's office?"

The question brought about a derisive laugh from Qrow. "You can bet the witch is going to be there…She always is, no matter how much I wish she wasn't." He finished with a mutter. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the man before realizing who he was talking about.

"I assume you're referring to Glynda?"

Qrow snorted. "Who else would I be talking about?" He asked rhetorically. "I swear, she has some vendetta against me, but I have no clue why." Even as the words were coming out of his mouth, Qrow was reaching into his pocket for a flask. "I mean, what's not to like? I'm awesome." He punctuated this with a swig, soon followed by a sigh of content. Naruto wouldn't have been able to stop his lips from forming a small smile even if he had wanted to.

"Yeah, I'm sure it has nothing to do with your _charming_ personality." Naruto replied, gaining a deep nod from Qrow.

"I'm glad you understand, Naruto." Qrow said with a smile. "It can be so hard to find people who can appreciate good company." Naruto shook his head in a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

"Moving on from whether or not you can be vexing to most people, who else will be there?" By now, the two of them had entered the elevator and it was climbing the many floors of the tall tower.

"That's probably it." Qrow answered. "You most likely know that Jimmy is off in Atlas running that army of his." It wasn't difficult to notice the disdain in Qrow's tone. "As for Taiyang, he's at Signal right now."

Naruto blinked. "He's at Signal? Doing what?"

"His job?" The way Qrow said it suggested that he believed it to be obvious.

Holding in _another_ sigh, Naruto continued. "Okay, but what is his job? I haven't exactly been staying in the loop, remember?" Qrow nodded in understanding.

"Taiyang's job is the same as mine." Qrow said simply. "We're both teachers at Signal." Naruto turned to stare at Qrow. Seeing the look, Qrow smirked. "Problem?"

"…You're a teacher?" A nod. "They let _you_ near impressionable kids so you can _teach_ them?" Qrow thoroughly enjoyed hearing the incredulousness in Naruto's voice.

"What do you expect? I'm a renowned huntsman, you know. People beg for the chance to have me impart some of my wisdom on them in the hopes that they can be more like me." He took another gulp from his flask. "I'm a role model for a lot of people, especially those of the younger generation."

Naruto was having difficulty that anyone would defer to Qrow for the purpose of learning something useful. "Are you serious? Who the hell you look up to you as a role model?"

Qrow nodded. "Many of my students look up to me as the super strong and badass huntsman that has gone on a bunch of cool missions." Naruto scoffed, but Qrow ignored it in favor of continuing. "And I even have somewhat of a fan base within the student population." His smirk widened, causing Naruto to grow wary. "…Many of whom are females." Naruto sent a nonplused expression at him.

" _Qrow,_ you are _not_ telling me that you are…" Qrow burst into laughter at this.

"Nah, I'm not." Naruto sagged in relief, allowing the respect he had for the man rise back up. "They're all a bit too young for me…Some of the girls here at _Beacon,_ however…" And just like that, Naruto's opinion of Qrow plummeted again.

Shaking his head, Naruto spoke up. "I would like to rephrase my previous words…You _shouldn't_ be let near kids."

Qrow waved him off. "Don't be such a prude, Naruto. I'm just joking." Naruto cast a skeptical look his, but didn't say anything. "But forget about me. _You_ look like you're still around your late teens…Do you ever get girls who come up to you, trying to look for a good ti-"

"Going back to the subject at hand…" Naruto interjected quickly, making Qrow snicker. "…If you are a teacher at Signal, shouldn't you be there teaching right now? Like Taiyang is?" It was then that the elevator arrived and the doors slid apart.

"I like how you avoided answering." Qrow said with a grin as a light dusting of red invaded Naruto's cheeks. "But to answer your question…I probably should be, yeah."

Naruto stared at him with dull eyes. "If you _should_ be there doing your job, why aren't you?"

"Qrow is not currently at Signal Academy doing his job because he used the headmaster's request to find you as an excuse to skip out of doing his duties." A stern voice said. Both Qrow and Naruto turned to face the speaker, although only Qrow had a grimace on his face.

Standing there was a middle aged woman with light blond hair tied back into a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face, bright green eyes, and ovular glasses. Her outfit was made up of a white long-sleeved top, a black business skirt with buttons going down the front, dark stockings, and black boots with brown heels. Attached at the shoulders was a tattered cape that was purple on the inside and black on the outside. On the back of the cape was a brown tiara above a row of diamonds.

Glynda Goodwitch glared at Qrow. "I truly wonder whose decision it was to give you a position at an institution such as Signal Academy. Particularly one that requires you to act responsibly on a regular basis." Instead of even bothering to appear as if he was getting chewed out, Qrow simply yawned widely and took another drink. His disregard at her words only seemed to further irritate Glynda.

Naruto glanced between the two of them. "I see that your relationship with one another really hasn't changed much…" He drawled, prompting Glynda to look at him for the first time. Naruto felt a spike of amusement hit him as he watched the normally calm and composed Glynda Goodwitch actually do a double take when she saw him.

Briefly, Glynda's brows furrowed together, but she soon recovered and a small smile formed on her face. "I suppose it is good to see you again, Naruto." Naruto smiled back.

"The same to you, Glynda."

"Oh, so you're going to be friendly with him and not me?" Qrow asked. "If you think about it, me being away from work is because I had to go and look for _Naruto._ " Said blond gave Qrow a flat look.

"I really don't think that you _had_ to go and leave Signal during the school year to find me." Naruto said blandly. "Isn't the break in a week or something? You could have waited until then."

Qrow considered his words for a few seconds before shrugging. "Meh, you're probably right." He admitted easily. "But then I wouldn't have been able to get away with just leaving because I wanted to." He finished. Glynda glared at him and opened her mouth to a say something, but was cut off.

"Let it go, Glynda." All eyes turned towards the man sitting behind the desk in the office. "Qrow's habits have been a long standing routine with him…He won't change them no matter how much you tell him to."

Sitting behind the desk was a middle aged man with tousled grey hair and thin brown eyes behind shaded glasses. His outfit consisted of a dark green scarf with a purple cross emblem, a black suit worn over a buttoned vest and green undershirt, dark shoes, and dark green pants.

Ozpin smiled slightly at the three of them. "Instead of bickering, I would rather use the time to become reacquainted with a friend that we haven't seen in twelve years." He stood up from his seat and walked around the table. "It is good to see that you are well, Naruto. I trust our time apart has treated you well?" Ozpin said while extending a hand.

Accepting the hand and shaking it, Naruto nodded with a small smile. "I've always enjoyed travelling. Since…the last time we met, that's what I've been doing."

Qrow chose that moment to interrupt. "Wait, so neither of you are going to comment on how Naruto looks the same as he did twelve years ago?" He asked incredulously. The question brought about a discreet glance aimed at Naruto from Glynda, but she didn't say anything.

In contrast to Glynda's subtle curiosity, Ozpin didn't show any response beyond the minute widening of his smile. "Hmm…Yes, it would seem that Naruto has discovered a method to retain his youthful appearance as he grows older." Qrow scoffed. "Maybe one day he will be willing to share it with me?"

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I think it might only really work for me." He said. Seeing that Ozpin's mouth opened again, he continued. "So anyways, I'm here. What do you want, Ozpin?" Immediately, the relatively relaxed atmosphere in the office disappeared.

In front of Naruto's very eyes, Ozpin gave the impression of aging years in the span of seconds. With a sigh, Ozpin gestured to the seats in front of his desk while he himself moved back to his seat. As the three of them sat down, Ozpin spoke up. "You have been sorely missed, Naruto." He began. "Your absence from the group was not without obvious notice." Naruto quirked an eyebrow.

"Ozpin, I wasn't even officially part of your little group. Not only that, I was only around for a couple of months at the most." Naruto said. "So please, don't act as if I was a longtime member and tell me…Why have you sought me out?"

The ends of Ozpin's lips twitched up. "The length of time that you spent with us does not equate to the validity of our companionship." He said calmly.

Silver eyes narrowed. "Stop avoiding the question."

Realizing that Naruto was serious, Ozpin's smile faded away. "Very well…Naruto, would you be willing to share what you have been doing for the last twelve years? I believe that some of it will contribute to my explanation of why I sought you out."

Frowning slightly, Naruto crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. He was slightly annoyed that Ozpin _still_ wouldn't answer the question, but he didn't see any harm in telling the man where he's been. "I told you already, I've been travelling around. But I didn't just stay in Vale." He said. "I visited all of the kingdoms and even spent some time outside of them."

The ghost of a smile returned to Ozpin. "Would I be correct in assuming that you have spent the time helping those you can? I recall you saying that's what you did before we met?"

Naruto nodded. "Here and there, yeah. Though I also take up the odd job once in a while if I need some money…" Naruto's frowned deepened. "What does this have to do with the reason you sent the drunkard after me?" Qrow scowled and opened his mouth as if to refute the claim, but he hesitated and took on a thoughtful expression…Which soon turned into an accepting look as he nodded.

Ozpin seemed to briefly think over the question. "Have you…heard anything on your travels?" He asked, causing Naruto's frown to slowly change into a glare.

"I hear a lot of things while I travel, Ozpin." Naruto said evenly. "Now _tell_ _me_ _what you want._ " Acknowledging that Naruto's patience was running dry, Ozpin spoke up.

"As I'm sure that you have both guessed and had Qrow confirm, I would like you to rejoin us, Naruto." He said seriously. "Only this time, I would like it to be as an official member of the group."

"What does that get me? A pretty badge with my name on it?" Qrow snorted at Naruto's sarcastic question whereas Glynda glared. "I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told Qrow…No." He said simply. "I don't want to join you."

"Naruto." Something in Ozpin's voice made him pause. "I request that you at the very least hear my reasons for asking you to join us…If you still desire to leave afterwards, then I promise that I will not object. I know that you appreciate your privacy and solitude, so know that I would only seek you out if I found it to be necessary." Ozpin bowed his head. "Please."

Naruto stared at the man in silence while the other three people in the room waited. After a minute, Naruto sighed. "Fine…I'll listen to what you have to say, but I promise nothing."

Ozpin lifted his head back up and nodded. "That is all I ask." He steepled his hands. "I'll begin with what has changed in the time that you have been away…Firstly, lets discuss the White Fang." Naruto blinked.

"What's there to talk about?" Naruto asked. "It's a pro-Faunus group that started to delve into the realm of a terrorist organization. It has been growing worse for the last five years." He looked between the other three. "I suppose you guys would be worried about it, but I don't see why it would lead to me joining you. It's more radical than other groups, but nothing that's game changing."

"While what you say is normally true, that isn't the case anymore." Ozpin said, gaining Naruto's attention.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that the so called 'anti-human' group may not be so anti-human after all." Qrow answered. "Or at least, they're willing to get over their hatred enough to work with humans who can give them better resources."

Naruto's eyebrows rose. "The White Fang is working with humans? Really?"

"Really." Qrow confirmed. "According to my intel, the White Fang has been getting a _lot_ of upgrades lately. That includes in terms of weaponry, internal organization, money, _and_ dust. The funny thing is though, they don't have those kinds of resources."

"…At least not on their own." Naruto concluded. "But that doesn't mean that they are working with humans, does it?"

"On its own, no." Qrow agreed as he took out his scroll. Tapping the screen a few times, he pulled up the image of a man with orange hair and showed it to Naruto. "You know who this is?" He asked, but got a shake of the head.

"Not a clue. But going off of how this is a mug shot, I'm guessing it's one of the local criminals?"

Qrow nodded. "Roman Torchwick." He informed. "I guess you could say he's the face of the criminal underworld in Vale."

"And he's connected to the White Fang?"

Qrow pulled out his flask again, ignoring the glare from Glynda as he did. "Judging by the fact that he has been seen with members of the White Fang under his command once or twice…yeah." He took a swig.

Naruto read through the information on the scroll. "According to this, Torchwick has a tendency be racist towards the Faunus population. He must be paying some good money and items to make a group like the White Fang overlook something like that." He mused.

"Indeed." Glynda tore her glare away from Qrow to look at Naruto. "However, given the sheer amount of dust that Roman Torchwick has stolen in recent months, it is very possible for him to do such a thing." She said.

"Yeah, I've heard about the dust shortage here in Vale is because someone keeps stealing it…" Naruto glanced up. "Is that it? Or do you have something else to tell me about him?"

Ozpin sighed. "We have reason to believe that there are others working in the shadows. People who are giving orders to both Roman Torchwick and the White Fang…But we do not know who." Qrow grunted, pulling the attention back to him.

"While it's true that we don't have any identities yet, I think I'm close to finding out just who it is we're up against." He said confidently. "I've been tracking them for a while now. Torchwick is good, but he's also arrogant. He's made mistakes in covering his tracks. Just give me some more time and I'm sure I can give some answers." Ozpin nodded.

"Very well, we'll leave it to you." Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted Glynda momentarily pull a small grimace, but she didn't speak up. "The bottom line is that we have both enemies know about, and enemies we do not know about. While the ones we know about provide enough trouble as it is-" Qrow was cut off by Naruto.

"The real danger comes from the ones who work where you can't see them." Naruto finished.

"Exactly."

"…I can see how that's a problem, but I _still_ don't get why you need my help for this." Naruto frowned. "You're still not telling me everything, Ozpin. What has you so worried?"

"You're right…" Ozpin closed his eyes. "As I'm sure you know, the fortieth Vtyal Festival is approaching." Naruto nodded. "Thousands of people will be pouring into Vale from the four corners of Remnant. People from Vale, people from Atlas, people from Mistral, people from Vacuo, and people from outside of the kingdoms. All of them will be converging in one location for the festival."

Naruto frowned. "And you're worried that someone is going to use this chance to…what? Attack?"

Ozpin nodded. "Very much so, yes."

' _That_ would _be a problem…'_ Naruto thought to himself. "Do you have anything to back this up with? I'm not saying I doubt you, but what are you going off of here?"

"I agree with him." Qrow suddenly said. "Naruto, you know that Oz wouldn't say something like this unless he really believes it to be true. It's an undeniable fact that we have known enemies out there as well as hidden ones. Torchwick and the White Fang are stealing all that dust for _something_ …We just don't know what." Naruto could feel his patience with them running thin by the second.

" _Enough._ " He declared, surprising them. "Either stop skirting around the real reason or stop trying to convince me to help." Sensing that Naruto was just about ready to walk out, Ozpin immediately spoke up.

"Naruto, we _are_ telling you the reasons. If you would just calmly listen to us and take in the entire scope of things, then I am sure tha-"

"I can't take in the entire scope of things if you won't tell me everything!" Naruto growled. "Ozpin, I'm not stupid. I _know_ you're still leaving something out. I'm sure that you are worried about Torchwick, the White Fang, and the people visiting the festival, but none of this is _new_ information!" He leaned forward. "So let me ask you _again,_ and you better be truthful this time…What. Changed?" He finished quietly. When no one answered, Naruto shook his head and stood up. "Fine, don't tell me." He turned and started making his way to the elevator. "I guess it was good to see you guys again, but I'm afraid that I won't be joining you."

"Naruto, wait."

"Qrow, I'm sorry, but no." If they weren't willing to trust him, he didn't see why he should trust them. Naruto wouldn't join them, but he would stick around the general vicinity of Vale in case something _did_ happen.

A quiet sigh from behind him made Naruto pause. "Very well..." Turning slightly, Naruto observed Ozpin as the headmaster spoke. "I suppose that if we want your help, it is only fair to be fully honest with you." Hearing this, Naruto turned and folded his arms across his chest.

"If you're going to stop avoiding the real reason, then I'm all ears."

Nodding, Ozpin slowly stood up, prompting Glynda and Qrow to do the same after sharing a glance. "Then let us be off." He grabbed his cane and moved to Naruto's side.

Naruto tilted his head minutely in question. "Off to where?"

Ozpin smiled faintly, but it was hollow. "To the vault." And without elaborating any further, he strode into the elevator, Qrow and Glynda doing the same. After a brief moment of hesitation, Naruto followed.

* * *

 **The Vault**

The elevator chimed and the doors opened up, granting Naruto the sight of a long and dim corridor. The only sources of light were the torches mounted along the walls which castes an eerie green tint to the entire area.

Naruto gave Ozpin an inquisitive look. "I don't think it's normal for a school to have something like this under it..."

"Yes, I would assume not…But as much as I hate to admit it, a location such as this is occasionally necessary." Ozpin said. "The reason we are down here is just ahead." He led the group down the hall. Naruto wasn't sure what it was, but something about the corridor set him on edge.

"So you're saying that the thing that made you decide that am need is here?"

"Not 'thing'." Glynda corrected, her voice somber. "The reason is a person."

Ozpin nodded lightly. "Naruto…I know you want your answers, and you will get them, but I have some more to talk to you about before we get into the core of the reason. I'm not sure that you will be able to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, otherwise."

The blond male of the group felt some skepticism return. "You might be surprised." He muttered.

"Maybe so." Ozpin allowed. "…Do you have a favorite season?"

Somewhat irritated by the seemingly unrelated question, Naruto focused on Ozpin. "What?"

"I asked you if you preferred one of the four seasons over the others."

The question made Naruto's mind briefly go back to the four girls he used to know. Unbidden, a small smile formed on his face. "No…" He said slowly. "I don't. I like all four seasons equally."

Qrow turned his head to look at him over his shoulder as they walked. "Really? You like all four equally?" A nod was given. "A lot of people just pick the season they were born in if they don't care. So what season is that?"

"I don't think you understand." The force infused in Naruto's voice made all eyes turn to him, and the owners were surprised to see the serious expression on his face. "It's not that I don't care, I simply like them all equally. Each season offers something new and unique that the others don't. I will not choose between them." He left no room for argument.

Ozpin took on a speculative countenance. "To each his own." He said quietly. "But regardless of whether or not you have a preference in seasons, I couldn't help but notice that you said that each of the seasons offers something that makes it special." He gave another smile. "It is good that you understand that."

"…So why did you ask?"

"I ask because the reason we are down here, the reason I requested for you to join us, is directly related to the seasons." Naruto's eyes snapped to the back of Ozpin's head, a feeling of apprehension crawling up his spine. "What if I told you that there exist four people who host the power that is the embodiment of the four seasons?" Ozpin stopped walking and turned to face Naruto, taking careful note of his reaction. "That these four people, four women, control the very power of nature?"

Naruto's mind was racing at Ozpin's words. "…You're talking about the four Maidens." He concluded, surprising Qrow and Glynda.

Oddly enough, Ozpin didn't seem to be surprised at Naruto's knowledge, albeit the blond could have heard the fairy tale. "I am indeed referring to the four Maidens." Ozpin nodded and set back off down the corridor. "So if I said that these people were very real and walked the world to this day, would you believe me?"

"Yes." Ozpin noted the lack of hesitation in Naruto's answer. "Are you telling me that one of them is down here?" The end of the corridor was finally in sight, and Naruto spotted something that looked like machines and some sort of pods.

"That is exactly what I am telling you." Qrow said quietly. Behind him, Naruto came to a complete stop as he realized just what it was that he was looking at.

Naruto was correct in thinking that they were pods hooked up to a machine, but he was _not_ expecting what the pod on the left contained. "Is this…" His voice was barely a whisper, but the other three people in the vault were able to hear him clearly.

Ozpin took off his glasses and tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Yes…It is." Just as the time in the office, Ozpin appear age a few years in the span of a couple seconds. "This is Amber, the current Fall Maiden." His voice was equally as quiet.

The pod on the left held a young woman with a light brown complexion, and short, straight brown hair. However, the shocking part came from the great amount of facial scarring she had.

Ruthlessly pushing down the momentary pain that struck him when he heard her name, Naruto slowly walked up to the pod containing the comatose girl. "What…What happened to her?"

Qrow looked down, small traces of shame and regret on his face. "She was attacked…I wasn't able to get there quickly enough to help her before this happened." He answered. "I couldn't even see the faces of the attackers before they got away."

"None of this is your fault, Qrow. You got there as soon as you could and you were prioritizing confirming Amber's health over getting a good look at the enemy." Ozpin said firmly. With a sigh, Qrow nodded, but he still looked somewhat remorseful. "But that isn't the full extent of the problem…Amber is alive, but some of her powers were stolen."

" _What?_ " Ozpin, Qrow, and Glynda were all surprised by the coldness of Naruto's tone.

Glynda adjusted her glasses and hesitantly spoke up. "Upon being subdued by her assailants, some of Amber's powers as the Fall Maiden were stolen and transferred to whoever attacked her through unknown means…The scarring is the result."

"There were three of them." Qrow added. "As far as I could tell, they attacked together, beat her, and then two of them held Amber down while the third forcefully extracted the power." Even as he said this, Ozpin observed Naruto tensing with every word. "I'm sure that they were fully intending on leaving her there to die when they finished."

And then things came to a head.

A wave of absolute dread pulsed through the inhabitants of the vault while the gravity increased. Instantly, a light sheen of cold sweat broke out across Qrow's forehead as Glynda had some difficulty breathing. Ozpin's only reaction was a widening of his eyes, but he didn't do anything else. Just as quickly as it had come, the oppressive feeling vanished.

"They…They _stole_ the power?" Naruto's fists were balled into tight fists as his body shook with rage. "They _took_ the power from the current host and then were going to leave her there to die?" Chills went down the spines of the others.

Taking a tentative step forward, Qrow spoke up. "…Naruto?"

"That _isn't_ how it works." Naruto growled. "The powers of the Maidens are meant to be transferred to those who are _worthy_ by method of the current Maidens choosing their successors upon death. Unfortunately, humans have the disgusting tendency to exhibit greed, so that doesn't always happen."

Ozpin immediately caught onto the implications of Naruto's words. "So you knew about the Maidens and the method in which the power is transferred?"

A harsh bark of laughter escaped Naruto. "Know? Of course I know! You're not the only one who knows that not all legends are false." He bit out, but didn't give Ozpin a chance to respond. "But that doesn't matter. What _does_ matter is the fact that this shouldn't be possible. The powers of the Maidens were _gifts_ given out of kindness. They weren't meant to be _stolen from the Maidens!_ And that isn't the only thing that pisses me off." Naruto was angry enough about that tidbit as it was, but he knew from the start that such a thing would be a problem. Hell, even the old geezer himself and the original Maidens later agreed that the method of succession was dangerous and easily exploited. However, more human greed wasn't the only issue. "Beyond the theft, they _tainted_ the power even further by _forcefully_ _extracting and splitting it_. Each of the four powers are meant to only be contained in a single person at a time. And definitely not forcefully taken while the Maiden is still alive!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto, what are you saying?"

Naruto spun around and glared at Qrow. "I'm _saying_ that what has been done here goes against nature itself! It _should never have happened!_ " Naruto's frustration was heightened by the detail he was only learning about this now.

He knew the old man! Naruto knew him and he knew the girls that the geezer originally gave those powers to! For Naruto -someone who typically tended to keep to himself because he knew any bonds he made would eventually end in sorrow- the old man and those girls had been the first people he interacted with in a _long_ time. They were the first people in just as long he revealed his past and condition to.

…The first people in _centuries_ that he called friends.

The old man's death was a sorrowful time, both for Naruto and the original Maidens, but it was not unexpected. As a final promise, Naruto swore that he would always look after the sisters and the Maidens that followed…But the old man said no, with the four girls agreeing. They had all said that whatever happens was meant to be.

So with extreme reluctance, Naruto eventually relented. He forced himself to do nothing as a cycle of someone killing a Maiden to become the successor was started, only for that person to be killed. Naruto felt relieved when time went by and the number of people who believed in the powers of the Maidens dwindled.

But this? Defiling Naruto's memory of his friends by spitting on the very things that they cherished? The things that were meant as _gifts_?

Fuck. That.

"Ozpin." Silver eyes locked with brown. "You want my help? Fine, you have it." Naruto was _not_ going to simply let what happened here go.

Ozpin actually look as if he was surprised by Naruto's sudden declaration, but he quickly composed himself again and smiled. "I'm very relieved to hear that, Naruto. Shall we return to my office to talk som-"

"However." Ozpin paused at Naruto's interruption. "I want you to keep in mind that I am _not_ one of your teachers here, nor am I your follower." Naruto said seriously. "I am working _with_ you for a mutual goal. You obviously know more about the situation here in Vale than I do, so I will follow your lead, but that's it." They stared at each other in silence, but Ozpin soon smiled again.

"Very well. That is reasonable."

* * *

 **Beacon Academy (Later)**

Qrow grinned widely with an exaggerated stretch as if he hasn't moved in hours. "Man, am I glad to finally be through with that!" His eyes slid over to Naruto, who still had a neutral look on his face. _'That's better than the scowl from earlier…'_

"It wasn't _that_ long." Although he said this, Naruto felt his mood improve when they left the tower. He was honestly surprised that Ozpin didn't ask him how he knew about the Maidens...But then again, Naruto has always thought that Ozpin knew more than he let on about more than he should.

"I had flashbacks to my time in Beacon as a student, back when I got sent to the headmaster's office." Qrow shot back.

Naruto glanced over. "Because you were a trouble maker?" Naruto's lips formed a smirk as Qrow twitched.

" _No_." Qrow said lowly, but his grin quickly returned. "Because I was given too many PDA related detentions." Naruto frowned at the unfamiliar term.

"PDA?"

"Public Display of Affection." In contrast to Naruto's groan, Qrow let out a loud laugh. "Oh, don't be like that. I was young! Those were the times to enjoy life, not spend them cooped up in a room and listen to boring lectures." Naruto gave him a look of disbelief.

"You still act like that." Qrow shrugged unrepentantly in response to Naruto's truthful claim. "Remind me how you became a teacher again?"

Qrow smiled winningly. "Because I'm awesome and people want me to teach them how to be awesome?" Naruto shook his head. "But that reminds me, we should get going."

Naruto stopped walking and turned to him in curiosity. "Get going to where?" Qrow rolled his eyes and took out his flask.

"Where do you think?" He paused to take a swig. "I said we had to wait a couple of hours, which have now gone by." Naruto blinked as he realized what Qrow was talking about. "We're going to Signal now."

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 2!**

 **I'm going to try to get the next chapter out on time, but I reserve the right to prioritize real life over fanfiction.**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	3. Chapter 3

**And we're back! Welcome to Legend of the Silver Shinobi, Chapter 3!**

 **Wow. This thing just continues to grow in popularity…And then I go and crap on it by not updating…I'm sorry about that.**

 **But I have good news! Finals are over, and the next set of midterms are 4-6 weeks away, depending on the class! So that means I should be able to give a reliable update schedule again!**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I'm just a broke college student...**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Biju/Deity Talking: **"Insert witty remark here."**

Biju/Deity Thinking: _**'Insert witty remark here.'**_

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **Signal Academy**

Naruto stared up in interest at the large school in front of him and Qrow. Quickly glancing around, he noted that a large portion of the area was littered with trees, some of which were a strange grey color. Because he was doing this, he trailed slightly behind Qrow, who was now walking through the main gates of Signal Academy.

Noticing this, Qrow glanced back. "What's with you? You didn't even bat an eye when we went to Beacon, but now you're interested in Signal?" Pulling his eyes away from their surroundings, Naruto turned his attention to Qrow.

"I've been to Beacon before today, but this is my first time here." Naruto explained. "I'm using the chance to check it." He frowned. "Besides, by the looks of it, we still have some time."

Reaching up a hand, Qrow scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Yeah…I thought that we would have timed it better, but I guess the students are still in school." He shrugged and nodded toward a nearby bench that was against a wall. "Whatever. It should only be a few minutes until everyone gets out, so let's relax here and talk for a bit." Not having anything better to do, Naruto followed him over to the bench. The second they reached it, Qrow plopped down on it and pulled out his flask.

A blond eyebrow quirked up at the sight. "Does that thing ever run out?" Naruto asked as he leaned against the wall.

Smirking, Qrow took a swig. "Many have asked, but no one knows for sure." He responded. "If you're lucky, you may just find out one day."

"Was that supposed to be mysterious?"

"I'm a bit tipsy, so I'm a little off, sue me."

"Whatever…" Silver eyes trailed over the school again. "I still find it hard to believe that _you_ of all people wound up being a teacher here." They must have really been desperate or something…

Qrow grinned. "I don't see what's so amazing about it." He said. "I've already explained why people would want me as a teacher, and I've done a pretty good job, if I do say so myself." His grin softened somewhat, and Naruto detected…pride? "In fact, I've even imparted some of my knowledge on the new generation." He moved a hand to his back and lightly gripped the hilt of his weapon.

After a short moment of thought, Naruto realized the implications of this. "…You taught someone how to use a scythe as a weapon?" He asked in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Qrow confirmed. "She's still pretty rough around the edges, but Ruby is improving…But she still sucks overall." Naruto's surprise grew.

"You taught Summer's daughter how to use your type of weapon?" He asked quietly. "I never would have thought that you were willing to take on a personal student…"

"Well, she earned it." Qrow said. "I told her that I would be willing to teach her how to use a scythe if she showed me she was capable of handling it…" He scowled. "And she tricked me into it." She muttered.

Naruto blinked at this. "She tricked you into it? How did she tri-"

"Don't worry about it." Qrow interruption did nothing but increase Naruto's interest, but the blond relented. "Anyways, Ruby has been learning how to use a scythe for a few years now. In fact, the weapon she chose to create in her time here is a sniper-scythe hybrid." He explained. "That's pretty damn impressive considering the fact that most students here don't complete their weapons until they are at _least_ nearly done with their second to last year here." He took another swig. "But then again, Ruby is the top of her year in weapons, maintenance, and combat."

"Is that so…" For a moment, a small smirked appeared on Naruto's face. Naruto knew that Summer would have been bragging nonstop about the fact that her daughter was apparently something of a genius. However, the feeling of amusement was quickly overshadowed by the return of the grief that he felt for Summer's death.

Not noticing the momentary anguish of his companion, Qrow continued. "Yep…Although she is like her sister in that both of them do their best to avoid studying."

This casual sentence caused Naruto's eyebrows to furrow. "Wait, what? She has a sister? Summer had a second daughter?"

Qrow stared at him in confusion for a minute, but he soon caught on. "Oh, right. You don't know…" He shook his head. "No, Yang Xiao long is not summer's daughter, but she is still Ruby's sister…Or at least, her half-sister." He sighed. "You never met her…but I have a sister…Her name is Raven."

Naruto slowly nodded. "Okay…So she and Taiyang…?"

"Exactly." Qrow took several gulps from his flask. Naruto noted this, but didn't comment on it. "She and Taiyang got together before he and Summer did, and they had Yang together…" Qrow frowned slightly. "They barely had Yang when she went and disappeared on an extended assignment…I never see her unless she has some information to pass along, Yang has never met her, and then Taiyang hasn't seen her either." His hands tightened around his flask in anger and frustration. "I don't even think she told Tai what was happening."

A small scowl formed on Naruto's face. "This assignment…Was Ozpin the one who…?"

The question didn't get an immediate reply, prompting Naruto to frown minutely. "I...I don't know." Naruto's frown deepened. "I think Oz may have dropped a few hints that got her thinking...or he knows more about what she is doing, but I can't say for sure."

Hearing this, Naruto closed his eyes. "...Regardless of if Ozpin sent her...She just left?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, she did." Qrow admitted. "Raven has always looked at the world… _differently_ than other people. I was never able to completely understand how her mind works, and I'm probably the person who knows her the best." He shook his head. "If she thought it was important enough, I don't doubt that she would be willing to just vanish…And she did."

The blond let out a deep breath. "It had _better_ be important…" He muttered. Being an orphan himself, Naruto has always viewed family as one of the most important things a person has. The idea that a mother would _willingly_ leave behind a newborn daughter angered him.

…Hell, even if it _was_ important, Naruto still wasn't sure that he could agree with it. It also ticked Naruto off that there was a chance that _Ozpin_ was the one to ask her to do so, or even that he knew why she left, but he didn't at least tell Raven's family.

"As far as I can tell, it is." Qrow informed. "She wouldn't tell me everything, but there were enough signs and other tells for me to piece together some possible scenarios." His eyes slid over to Naruto. "The fact that Raven left to do some assignment and that I'm still somewhat in contact with her is a secret, Naruto. No matter how we feel about it, what she is doing is important. It keeps a lot of people safe…People I care about. I trust you with this, Naruto." Silver eyes snapped to his. "I'm telling you this in case there is an emergency and Raven can't get to me in time." Detecting the seriousness in the normally laid back man, Naruto nodded. "Thank you…But enough of that. There is something else I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Qrow pushed himself to his feet and turned so that he could face Naruto, and the two stared at each other in silence.

Suddenly, Qrow lashed a fist out and punched Naruto. Although he was only somewhat caught off guard by the move, Naruto didn't react in any way, not even to avoid the fist. Stumbling away slightly, Naruto's blank face looked back at the scowling Qrow.

"You going to tell me why you did that?" Naruto asked.

" _That_ was a long time coming…And I want you to promise me one more thing." Qrow said. "After Summer died, you left." The blank expression on Naruto's face faded into a glare, but he didn't say anything. "I get that you pretty much only bothered to meet us because of her, but I had thought that we became friends in the time that you were with us…I have to admit that I reconsidered that thought after you left. It hurt to know that you were so quick to leave, Naruto. And it _really_ pissed me off." Qrow held is scowl for a moment, but it soon disappeared. "…But I get it."

Naruto blinked. "What?" Qrow shook his head.

"Like I said, you were only really there for Summer. You may or may not have thought of the rest of us as friends, but you were only stopping yourself from roaming around as you have been because of her…So once she was gone, you left. That could have been some form of grief, or it could just be the way you are, but whatever. It's in the past now…And once you learned that there was still something of Summer left in the world, you came back…But if you think that I'm going to _forget_ that you left, then you're fucking crazy."

Slowly, Naruto nodded. "…So what are you saying?"

"All I'm saying is this…" Qrow nodded towards the school. "In there is Summer's daughter, Ruby. She is a fifteen-year-old girl who's only desire is to help people. Ruby is strong for a girl her age, but that is only because she has worked her _ass_ off to push herself past her limits over and over again. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the workshop in the middle of the night to find her passed out on the workbench because the stupid girl worked herself to the point that she didn't even realize when she was tired."

' _That's…'_ Naruto's mind flashed back to an old memory of a twelve-year-old blond boy passing out in the middle of a clearing with singed palms. The boy had been working for hours to master a technique in a week, despite the fact that others hadn't been able to learn it in months.

"Despite this, Ruby is still a young girl. She has hopes, dreams, and _fun_." Qrow continued. "I've watched her grow from the little brat who was just learning to walk to a cheerful girl who doesn't know when to shut up." He reached out a hand and grabbed a fistful on Naruto's shirt. "I get that she can't keep that innocent smile forever, but I'll be _damned_ if I let her lose it sooner than she needs to." Qrow snarled. "So that's what I want you to promise me something. I want you to _promise_ that if something happens to me or Taiyang, I want you to _take over for us_."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You want…"

"That's right…I want you to protect Ruby in our place." Qrow said quietly. "I get that she won't be able to stay innocent forever. Ruby has chosen to become a huntress, so such a thing is stupid and impossible, but that doesn't mean that she has to suffer…There will times where she loses a fight, or she wasn't able to save everyone, but that's all a part of the job…She can't be protected from that."

"…Then what are you asking me to do?"

"All I'm asking is that you _don't_ abandon her like you did us." Qrow responded. "If Summer meant as much to you as I think she did, don't abandon her daughter." He shoved Naruto away. "Got it? I'm asking that, in the event that something happens, you are the one to take over Taiyang and my duties, both in the _group_ and as the person who looks out for Ruby. And because her happiness also depends on her family being safe, this also extends to Yang's safety. I want your word, Naruto. Otherwise…" He started move a hand towards his weapon. "I won't even give you the chance to hurt her."

Silver eyes stared into red for several minutes. Eventually, the silence was broken by Naruto sighing and closing his eyes. "…I promise." He said quietly. "I promise that if something happens to you, I'll take over. And I promise that I won't leave Ruby like I did to the rest of you…I'll protect her from things that she shouldn't have to face alone."

Satisfied with his answer, Qrow nodded. "Good. In that case…" He released his hand from the hilt of his weapon and held it out to Naruto with a small smile. "Welcome back, Naruto." Naruto mirrored the smile and accepted the hand. It was at that point that the two of them heard a loud bell ringing out from deeper in the campus. Blinking, Qrow released Naruto's hand. "Oh, I guess school is out now…"

As soon as he said this, numerous voices started to approach their location. A minute later, the two witnessed many students walking towards the gate while talking to one another. Some of them left the school while others walked over to different locations in groups. Most of the students left the campus without a glance at the two of them, but a few noticed Naruto and Qrow standing off to the side, and called out greetings to Qrow.

Naruto watched in interest as Qrow smirked and waved lazily in return to those who called out to him. "Wow…They honestly like you, huh?"

A snort escaped from Qrow. "You're _still_ saying that? I'm one of the most popular teachers here."

"Professor Branwen, you're back! Thank Oum, we were so tired of Professor Xiao Long giving us homework for your class!"

"Yeah, it felt so weird to actually have to do work for that class…"

"I know, right?"

Qrow quickly averted his eyes when Naruto looked to him. "So…You're popular because you never give any work?" Naruto asked in exasperation.

"That's not the only reason…"

"And you really made Taiyang cover for you while you were gone? What about his own classes?"

"I'm sure he had it handled…" Deciding it would be best to change the subject, Qrow scanned their surroundings. Spotting something, his smirk reappeared. "Hey, check it out…" He whispered.

Slightly surprised by the sudden instruction, Naruto complied. Following Qrow's gaze, his gaze came to a stop on a group of students who were huddled together and sneaking peeks at them…Or more specifically, they were sneaking peeks at Naruto. Normally, Naruto would have written it off as people being curious about his unique eye color, but there were two things that set off alarms in his head.

The entire group was made up of girls, and they were all giggling.

Carefully hiding his grimace, Naruto hastily looked away and ignored the multiplying giggles. "So, you really _do_ get girls who are interested in you…" Naruto glared at Qrow. "I thought there was a chance, but I never really considered it that much."

"Qrow…" Naruto growled in warning.

"Hey, most guys would say that you're lucky." Qrow supplied. "I don't get why you're so against the idea." Naruto's glare darkened, prompting Qrow to raise his hands in surrender. "Relax, I'm just joking." Naruto held his glare for another moment, but he then leaned against the wall again. "But really, are you gay?"

" _Qrow_!" Qrow burst into laughter at Naruto's shout.

"Alright, alright! I got it, no more jokes about you seducing young women." Detecting Naruto's growing anger, Qrow quickly attempted to find another distraction. Soon, he found what he was searching for. "There he is…" He muttered before calling out. "Taiyang!"

Naruto's eyes widened as his anger left him. As Qrow had said, there was a blond man hurrying along nearby while carrying a stack of papers. The man froze mid-step upon hearing his name and turned to the source. "Qrow?" Spotting the scythe wielder, the man scowled and changed his course to them. "Where the heck have you been?"

Taiyang was a man with blond hair, blue eyes, and some stubble along his jawline. He wore brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandanna on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt that was missing the right sleeve. On his right arm were a spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove.

Once he was close, Qrow put a hand on his hip and used the other to give a two fingered salute. "I was on a job for Oz, you knew that."

"No, I didn't!" Taiyang bit out. "You never told me where you were going, only that you needed me to cover for your classes until you got back. You didn't even tell me how long you were going to be gone or what kind of lesson plan I should follow!"

Qrow paused and rubbed his chin in thought. "Is that really what happened?" He mused.

"Yes!"

"Oh…Well anyways, I'm happy to say that I successfully completed Oz's request." Qrow said brightly.

Clenching his teeth in frustration, Taiyang spoke up. "Oh, I am _so_ happy to hear that. And may I ask _what_ was so important that you had to leave at this point in the school year?"

"Why, yes you may!" Qrow reached out a hand and placed it on Naruto's shoulder. "I was sent out to retrieve this moron." It was now Naruto's turn to shoot Qrow a dirty look.

Taiyang actually did a double take upon seeing who was standing there. Once he confirmed that he wasn't imagining things, his jaw dropped. "…Naruto?" He whispered. "Is that you?"

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto smiled weakly at the other blond. "Hey, Taiyang…It's been a while." This seemed to serve as enough of a push to snap Taiyang out of his stupor. Grinning widely, he swiftly dumped the stack of papers on the bench and scooped Naruto up in a hug, startling the recipient of the hug somewhat.

"'It's been a while'?! Is that all you have to say? It's good to see you again, Naruto!" Taiyang said jovially. Releasing Naruto, Taiyang placed his hands on his shoulders. "It's been way too long."

"Um…Yeah, it has…" Naruto wasn't completely sure if Taiyang was hiding his anger like Qrow had been, so he wasn't certain how to react.

Not noticing Naruto's slight discomfort, Taiyang turned his attention to the smirking Qrow. "So Ozpin asked you to go find Naruto?" A nod. "You could have said something! I thought that you were just skipping out on work again."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Not this time. Ozpin really did ask me to go and find Naruto. It was a little annoying to do it, but I eventually managed to track him down."

"I see…" Blue eyes moved back to Naruto. "So? How long are you going to be in town for, Naruto? We've got to catch up." Without even looking, Naruto could feel the weight of Qrow's stare on his head.

Smiling softly, Naruto answered. "I'm going to be around for a while this time, Taiyang. Ozpin asked me if I was willing to help out for the festival, and I said yes." Although his tone light, Naruto's eyes conveyed a different message. And judging by how Taiyang's eyes sharpened, he understood it perfectly.

"I see. Well, that's great! I know that Ozpin has been expecting for things to get pretty busy soon." Taiyang replied. The two were then distracted by the sound of Qrow's voice.

"Hey, Tai…What's with all the papers?" The red eyed man asked curiously.

Blinking in realization, Taiyang shot another glare at Qrow. "That stack of paper is some of the work that I have had to go through while you were gone. It's both work from my classes _and_ yours." Not letting up his glare, he strode over to the stack and picked it back up. "And thanks for reminding me, some of these are also forms that I need to turn in, which I was in the middle of doing when you distracted me."

Grinning unrepentantly, Qrow gave him a shooing motion. "Then I guess that you should hurry up and do it then, huh? Go on, I promise that we'll still be here…As long as you don't take too long." Muttering something under his breath, Taiyang stalked away.

Once he was gone, Naruto sent a flat look at Qrow. "So you not only left without warning, but you didn't even bother to tell him why he was covering for you?"

"Nope." Qrow took a swig of his flask. "But hey, it all worked out."

Naruto sighed. "Giving you responsibility is the dumbest idea I've heard in a whi-"

"Come on, we're going to be late!" This shout cut Naruto off.

"How can we be late when there's no time limit?! Slow down, Ruby!" Stilling in realization, Naruto slowly turned towards the source of the voices, prompting Qrow to do the same. "I said hold up!" Two girls came into sight on a path towards the front gate of the school. It was clear that, despite being smaller, one of the girls was pulling the other along.

The girl getting pulled had long blond hair, pale skin, and lilac eyes. She was wearing a tan vest with puffy cap sleeves black cuffs and an orange infinity scarf. Under this, she had on a low-cut crop top with a black crest that resembled a flaming heart. A brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and had attributes of a skirt on the back, was going around her waist over black shorts. Her shoes were brown knee-high platform boots worn over orange socks of differing lengths. On both of her hands were fingerless black gloves and yellow bracelets, which were probably her weapons. While it was somewhat easy to spot the similarities between this girl and Taiyang, it was the second girl that made Naruto freeze.

The second girl was slightly younger and had shoulder length black hair that had a red tint to it. She wore a black blouse, a black corset with red lacing, a skirt with red trimmings, and a red cloak with a hood. The girl's shoes came up to her shins and followed the black with red trim color scheme. On her belt was a silver emblem that depicted a flaming rose. Fastened to the girl's lower back was a red weapon in its condensed state. Naruto took all of this in with a small glance, but his eyes were now locked on the girl's _silver eyes._

' _She…She looks just like…'_

Noticing his companion's state, Qrow decided to intervene. Plastering a grin to his face, he called out to the two girls. "Yang! Ruby!" Both girls paused their movement and bickering in favor of looking to him. "Are you really going to leave without even saying hello?" He placed a hand over his heart and put on a faux hurt look. "Do you really care so little for me?"

The two girls immediately brightened at the sight of him. "Uncle Qrow!" They shouted together. The next second, all that was left in Ruby's place was a small flurry of rose petals.

"Oof!" Blinking, Naruto's head moved back towards Qrow, and his eyebrows shot up when he saw that Ruby's arms were now latched around Qrow's waist in a hug.

"Where have you _been_?!" Ruby demanded, although she was smiling giddily as she asked. "We haven't seen you in _ages_! How could you leave without saying anything like that?! You didn't leave a note, you didn't say goodbye, you didn't tell anyone where you were going, not even dad knew, you didn't call, you didn't _answer_ any calls, you didn-" The hyperactive girl was muffled when Qrow placed his hand over her mouth.

Smirking, Qrow spoke over her stifled voice. "If you would be quiet, then _maybe_ I will tell you what I've been doing." Eyes widening, Ruby stopped talking. "So will you be quiet?" A nod prompted him to remove his hand. "Good. If you must know, I've been on a top secret mission for an old friend of mine." Ruby's eyes instantly seemed to light up with…stars?

At the same time, an amused snort was heard from nearby. "Yeah, sure. I bet you were actually skipping out on work so you could hang out in some of the local bars." Qrow winked at the approaching form of Yang.

"That was just a perk." Qrow's words made Yang sigh, but she was still smiling.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was…" Shrugging, she continued. "Well, whatever. I'm glad you're back. Dad has been ruining the reputation of your class…" She shuddered. "…with _work_." Qrow laughed at her words.

"I heard about that. Don't worry, I'm back now. That means that all of that crap is over and done with." Yang opened her mouth to reply, but she didn't get the chance to.

"Enough about the boring schoolwork! Tell me about your mission!" Ruby's interruption pulled all eyes back to the girl, who was still attached to Qrow's waist. "What kind of mission was it? Did you have to defeat a horde of Grimm? Oh! Oh! I bet you needed to save some village? Or maybe you were called to rescue people who were being held hostage by an evil group bent on taking over the world!" Ruby was practically vibrating in excitement. "Come on, tell me!"

Yang's smile grew. "Ruby, Uncle Qrow said it was a _top secret_ mission. I'm pretty sure that kind of means that he can't tell us." Ruby visibly deflated at this piece of information.

Tears began to gather in the corner of Ruby's widening eyes. "Really?" Her voice was dejected as she asked that.

Brushing of the look with ease, Qrow scoffed. "That may work on Tai, but I'm stronger than that." The bottom lip began to tremble, forcing Qrow to hastily avert his gaze. "…But the mission was a success, so I don't see why I should keep quiet about it." He added after a moment.

Ruby's expression immediately turned into a gleeful one as she cheered. "Yes!" Jumping up and down in place, she gave Qrow an eager grin. "Now tell me!" Yang also appeared to be interested in what had made Qrow had to say.

Naruto watched silently as Qrow leaned forward and spoke with a hushed tone. "The friend I mentioned had a special task for me, and it was one that he could only entrust for me." Ruby and Yang nodded. "This task took me out of the kingdom, making me travel around in order to find clues on my target."

"What was your target?" Yang asked curiously. "Was it a Grimm that traveled around or something?"

Qrow shook his head. "No, it would have been easier to locate if it was something like that." He answered. "My target was something that hadn't had a confirmed sighting in over a decade, and I had nothing but obscure rumors coupled with my own skills at my disposal to track it. Eventually, I found my target lurking near a small and out of the way village that was halfway between here and Vacuo." Naruto felt some irritation return to him at the way Qrow was making it sound as if he was some kind of rare animal, but he didn't stop the story.

It was obvious that Ruby's excitement was growing by the second, and even Yang was hanging on to his every word. "And? What happened next?" Ruby whispered. Naruto felt his lips twitch up in a soft smile as a small sense of nostalgia hit him.

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, Qrow continued. "By the time I got to the village, my target was on the move again. At first, I thought that it had begun to flee because it learned that I was coming for it, but I soon learned that it was simply on the move again. Knowing that I needed to hurry or else it would get away again, I moved in to intercept it."

The two girls nodded. "And?" They prompted together.

Pausing for dramatic effect with a smirk, Qrow abruptly pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "And then I sat down at a bar and asked that elusive bastard to come back to Vale with me." Naruto tiredly rubbed his eyes.

"Qrow…" Contrasting Naruto's tired reaction, Yang's face adopted an irritated expression.

"That's it?" She demanded. "You sat down in a bar and asked some guy to come back to Vale with you? Your mission was to find someone? How was that a top secret mission?!"

"Yep, that's it." Qrow answered easily. "You may think it isn't much, but this jerk was actually pretty hard to find." He shrugged. "He lives a pretty boring life, so he didn't leave many clues behind for me to follow, you know?" It was then that the sisters turned to Naruto for the first time, and both of their eyes widened, but for different reasons.

Releasing a gasp, Ruby bounced in place again. "Oh my Oum! You have silver eyes too! That is _awesome_!" She said happily. If he didn't see it earlier, Naruto might have been startled when -out of nowhere- she became a blur of black and red, leaving nothing but rose petals in her wake. "I have never met anyone else like me! This is great!" Ruby said from her new spot, next to Naruto.

Unsure how to react, Naruto glanced to Qrow for help. Unfortunately, it seemed that Qrow enjoying Naruto's plight. _'Jackass…'_ Swallowing nervously, Naruto's attention went back to Ruby, who was still talking. _'What exactly do I say here?'_ While he had wanted to meet her, now that he was here, Naruto was unsure how to introduce himself.

Unexpectedly, a hand reached out and covered Ruby's mouth, as Qrow had done. "Chill out, Rubes. You're not giving him a chance to speak." Smiling thankfully, Naruto looked to Yang, only to freeze in place again. He did _not_ like the expression she was giving him. "Uncle Qrow was asked to bring you back to Vale? Then if you're new in town, maybe I can show you around?" She asked with a wink.

' _Is she seriously trying to flirt with me?!'_ Oblivious to the rising incredulity in Naruto, Yang stepped closer. "Uh…" Some random girls were one thing, but Taiyang's eldest daughter? That was beyond uncomfortable.

"I know all the good spots in the city." Yang said quietly. "Come on, it'll be fun. What do you say?"

"I…" Hearing the poorly suppressed snickers from nearby, Naruto mentally swore to get Qrow back for not helping out. Suddenly, the two girls froze at the same time when a feeling of dread washed over the group. _'Killing intent? Who still has that ability?'_ Naruto wondered.

"Hahaha~ Hey, what're you guys talking about?"

' _Damn it all…'_ Taiyang _would_ choose that moment to come back.

Swallowing nervously, Yang looked at Taiyang, who was surrounded by a menacing aura. "N-Nothing, dad…I'm just volunteering to show Uncle Qrow's friend around Vale."

Taiyang nodded, chilling smile still in place. "Well, that sure is nice of you, Yang." He latched a hand on Naruto's shoulder and _squeezed_. "After all, I'm sure that your _Uncle_ Naruto here wouldn't want to get lost…"

Dead silence.

"Their who?"

"Our who?!"

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Qrow burst into laughter.

Startled, Yang rounded on her father. "'Uncle'?!" She shouted while pointing a finger at Naruto. "He's looks like he's my age! How is he our uncle?!"

Still smiling, Taiyang moved his hand so his arm was around Naruto's shoulder. "He may not seem it, but Naruto is actually at least around our age." Yang and Ruby's jaws dropped. "And you don't see it? How many times have you heard of or met someone with silver eyes?"

Ruby squealed. "So you're my mom's brother?!"

Frowning slightly, Naruto glanced to Taiyang, whose eye promised retribution if he disagreed. Deciding on a compromise, Naruto spoke up. "I'm not Summer's brother, Ruby." Seeing Ruby deflate and feeling Taiyang tense, Naruto hastily continued. "But we _are_ related." He said with a grin. The second he said this, both Taiyang and Qrow's eyes snapped to him. At the same time, Ruby smiled gleefully again.

"We have another uncle! That's so awesome!" Not wasting another moment, she wrapped Naruto up in a hug, causing him to still in shock. "It's so good to meet you!"

"Uh, yeah…" Naruto said slowly. "It's…nice to meet you too?"

Unlike Ruby's, Yang's reaction was not nearly as positive. Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms and sent a skeptical look at Naruto. "Is that right?" She asked quietly. "The why are we only finding out about you now? Where have you been?"

Grimacing, Naruto noticed that Ruby was also curious about the answer, even though she had yet to let him go. "I've been…travelling." Naruto replied.

"To the point that we never knew you existed?"

"Pretty much." Naruto shrugged. "Qrow wasn't exaggerating when he said that he found me in a small village outside of the four kingdoms. I don't often like to stay in one place for too long, so I move around a lot. This is the first time in a _long_ time that I've been in Vale."

"But that doesn't explain why we didn't know about you."

Naruto nodded. "What was there to say? That you had an uncle, but no one knew where he was? I doubt I ever came up. Plus, I am also only learning about you two now." Not expecting this, Yang relented and took on an apologetic countenance.

"My bad, I was just a bit curious…" Naruto waved off the apology with a smile.

"It's not a problem. If I had some jackass of an uncle that never bothered to visit, then I would be pretty pissed too." Yang twitched and swatted Naruto on the arm.

"Hey, watch the language!" She instructed sternly. "If Ruby picks up any bad habits then I'm going to be coming after you and Uncle Qrow!" Naruto blinked at this while Qrow rolled his eyes.

"You're exaggerating." Qrow paused to take a swig of his flask. "I've been told you over and over that I'm a great role model." Qrow chose to gracefully ignore the snorts of disbelief from the three blonds. "Hey, I've been wondering this for a while now…but weren't you two in some kind of hurry?"

Gasping, Ruby finally released Naruto and whirled around to see that the area was now nearly completely devoid of students. "Oh no! I can't believe I got distracted!"

Taiyang quirked an eyebrow while Yang sighed. "Distracted from what?" He asked.

"Distracted from going into Vale! GRM Works is releasing a new weapon mod today! One that is perfectly compatible with Crescent Rose!" Ruby said in dismay. "If I don't get there soon, then they will all be taken!" She lashed out and grabbed Yang's hand. "We have to go, now!

Seeing an opportunity, Taiyang spoke up. "That's great! This will give you guys and Naruto a chance to bond!" Ruby, Yang, and Naruto all stilled at his words.

"What?" Naruto asked, unsure if he heard correctly.

Smiling, Taiyang nodded. "Yeah, it all works out! You three can go to the weapons shop together, maybe eat out, and just spend some time together!"

Ruby grinned pumped a fist. "That would be awesome! Come on, Uncle Naruto!" Not waiting for a reply, she shot her other hand out and seized his. "Let's go!" Naruto blinked at her in surprise before turning to Taiyang and Qrow, both of whom appeared to be highly amused.

From her place on Ruby's other side, Yang sighed. "Well, welcome to the ride, I guess." She said, although there was still a smile on her face. The next thing Naruto knew, he was being tugged along by a silver eyed girl, despite her smaller size.

' _Déjà vu.'_

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 3!**

 **I'm obviously taking things a bit slow for the first few chapters…It'll pick up, I promise.**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


	4. Chapter 4

**If you didn't get the memo, I'm starting to stray away from a schedule that is weekly based. Instead, I'm starting to lean towards rotating out my stories. I could go back to the weekly thing soon, but I don't see the point of saying it is weekly if I am going to continuously be late.**

* * *

 **And we're back! Welcome to Legend of the Silver Shinobi, Chapter 4!**

 **I intended to get this out on the one-month anniversary, like I've done for my other stories, but I didn't get to it until later than I anticipated…Meh, close enough.**

 **Current story stats! 580 Favorites! 791 Follows! 6 Communities! 136 Reviews! And 19,787 views! Thanks for favoring/following/reviewing/and reading! I seriously can't believe that this story has gotten so far in a single month.**

* * *

 **Anyways, on with the story!**

 **I don't own Naruto or RWBY. I'm just a broke college student...**

* * *

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: _'Insert witty remark here.'_

Biju/Deity Talking: **"Insert witty remark here."**

Biju/Deity Thinking: _**'Insert witty remark here.'**_

Scene Change: **Insert Place Here**

Jutsu/Technique: **Insert Jutsu Here**

* * *

 **GRM Works**

Naruto winced minutely when Ruby let out a high pitched squeal of excitement upon seeing the weapons and other items in the store. Glancing to the side, a feeling of amusement hit him when he noticed that Yang had her fingers in her ears, having anticipated such a reaction.

Taking a moment to grumble in annoyance, Yang removed her fingers and shot Ruby a disgruntled look. "Why do you do that every time we come here? You've seen all of this before!"

Her sister waved her off. "Psh, like it matters!" She zipped from display to display. "I simply respond in the manner that is appropriate to how awesome this stuff is!" She gasped. "Oh my Oum, is that a Vulcan Fury?!" She disappeared in a burst of rose petals. Naruto couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm…despite the questionable topic.

"So, I take it that this is normal?" He asked Yang, who decided to wait out Ruby's geek mode.

Yang sighed. "Yeah…I mean, I guess it's kind of understandable, what with how _good_ she is when it comes to understanding weapons, but…" She shrugged. "Sometimes I kinda wish that she would put that enthusiasm towards other things."

His head tilted. "Other things like what?"

"Like actually going out and talking to people, not weapons!" Yang responded with obvious exasperation.

"Hey! I do _not_ talk to weapons!" Ruby's indignant voice was heard clearly from somewhere nearby.

"You don't? Then who was that you were talking to the other night when I walked into the workshop?" Yang asked. "You know, the one you kept on calling beautif-"

Suddenly, a beet red Ruby appeared in front of Yang, hands covering her elder sister's mouth. " _Yang!_ You promised to keep that a secret!" Yang rolled her eyes. Still blushing, Ruby sent an uneasy smile to Naruto. "Ignore her! She's kidding! Hahaha…"

Naruto's amusement grew upon watching their interaction. "Forget about it, I know that she was joking." Ruby slumped in relief. Unable to completely help himself, Naruto continued with a deceptively innocent tone. "After all, who the heck would actually talk to a weapon? That takes obsession to a whole new level…"

Ruby laughed nervously, unable to catch on to the fact that he was messing with her. "Y-Yeah, um…That's totally crazy…" Lilac eyes dancing in delight showed that Yang figured that Naruto was messing with her.

"Yep. I would seriously be worried for my niece if she did things like talk to her weapons." Naruto smiled at her. "But that's fine, because neither of you do that!"

"R-Right!" Ruby let out a small breath of relief. _'I'm so glad he bought that!'_

' _Does she really think I bought that?'_

"A-Anyways!" Ruby cleared her throat. "I'm going to the counter to get the mod for Crescent Rose now. Be right back!" She removed her hand from Yang's smirking mouth, and after what she perceived to be an intimidating look as warning, she went to the front of the store.

Once Ruby left, Yang turned to Naruto, a wide grin in place. "So Uncle Naruto knows how to play around!" She said happily. "That's good, a boring uncle is never fun."

Naruto shrugged. He was honestly a little surprised with himself for messing with Ruby like he did, but she was simply the kind of girl that was easy to grow fond of. Despite the heavy mood that his discussion with Ozpin left him in, Naruto felt himself relax around the girls. "I couldn't resist." He replied. "She makes it too easy."

"Don't I know it. While it's cute, I wonder how she can fall for it so easily…" Yang shot him a playful expression. "That just means that it is up to us to make sure that she understands the concepts of joking and sarcasm!"

"I assume that we are to do that by providing her with a firsthand experience?"

"Of course! What other way is there?" Yang replied brightly. "The best way to teach her is by showing her, and the best way to do that is to mess with her!"

He rolled his eyes. "What a nice and caring sister you are…" He said flatly.

"Aw, I do my best." Yang responded with false bashfulness. "But thanks."

"Okay, I have it!" Both of the blonds turned in surprise when a beaming Ruby skipped over to them with a box.

"Already?" Yang asked. "That was fast."

Another dust of pink lit up Ruby's cheeks. "Huh? O-Oh, Uh…They kind of…saved one for me…" Although she whispered it, both of them still heard her.

"They saved you one?" Naruto asked. "Why would they do that?" Don't get him wrong, he thought that it was nice of them, but it didn't make much sense…

While Naruto didn't understand, Yang obviously did, if her laughter was anything to go by. "They knew you would rush over from Patch to get one! You come her so often that they know you would want one?!"

"Don't say it like that! I don't come here that much!" Ruby protested. "I don't!"

"Oh yeah? Then when was the last time you came here?" Yang probed. "I bring you here when you need to get here fast, and then I sometimes come because I don't have a reason not to, but I'm not too sure of how many times you come besides that." The silence from Ruby was very telling. "Come on, tell us…I promise not to laugh." _'Too much.'_

Despite appearing to be skeptical with that promise, Ruby hesitantly spoke up. "I really don't come here that often…Just a couple of times a month."

Yang hummed thoughtfully. "And exactly how many times is a 'couple of times'? Do you come every other week?"

Ruby's expression was one of extreme discomfort, but she still answered. "I come…" She muttered something so softly that not even Naruto was able to hear it.

A blond eyebrow raised above a lilac eye. "Sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't hear."

"I said, I come here t…" Yang still wasn't able to hear her, but a surprised laugh from Naruto clued her in that it wasn't an expected answer.

Glaring, Yang crossed her arms. "Fess up, how much time do you waste here?"

"It's not a waste!" Ruby shot back, but she wilted upon seeing the stare that Yang was giving her. "I come here…two times a week?" She hastily diverted her eyes from Yang's narrowed ones.

"You come here two times a week?!" Yang echoed. "Why?! I know that they don't get new items that frequently, so what's the point?!"

"I can't help it!" Ruby whined. "Everything here is so cool! And I always need some new parts for Crescent Rose, so I come here to get them!"

Yang shook her head. "You can order most parts online and they will be delivered to you on Patch! Seriously, Ruby. This weapons obsession is getting out of control!"

"No it's not! I can stop focusing on weapons any time I want!"

"Oh yeah?" Ruby did not like that challenging look from her sister. "Then you won't mind not visiting a weapons shop for the next month?" Ruby's face paled, but she held strong.

"Of c-course not! Something like that is e-e-e…" She swallowed. "Easy for me!"

A smirk made its way onto Yang's face. " _And_ you won't work on Crescent Rose above the standard maintenance for the next month." Naruto winced at the horrified expression Ruby made.

"No way! I refuse to neglect my baby!" Ruby cried. "I can't believe you're telling me to do such a cruel thing!"

"Ruby, it's a weapon!" Yang exclaimed. "It won't even be able to tell!"

Ruby gasped. "Silence, nonbeliever!"

Deciding that enough was enough, Naruto spoke up. "While I would love to hear more about how Ruby treats her weapon as a child, we are drawing a crowd." Both of the sisters blinked and glanced around, and while Yang simply shrugged, Ruby blushed and retreated into her hood. Naruto smiled at the sight. "Now then, how about we go and get something to eat?" Ruby eagerly agreed, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

Yang grinned at him. "Fine, but as the new uncle, you're paying." She wasn't expecting a matching smirk to form on Naruto.

"Who said anything about me paying?" He held up a wallet, and it was one that both Ruby and Yang recognized. Catching onto his plan, Yang's grin widened. "Taiyang suggested it, so he can pay."

That's what the jerk got for trying to pawn _Naruto's_ wallet out on his daughters.

* * *

 **Back with Taiyang**

' _Where the hell did I leave it? I know I had it in my pocket…'_ Taiyang thought in annoyance. _'It doesn't make any sense. I bought a drink out of the vending machine on my way back from the office, so I at least had it then…And after that, I met back up with-'_ He stiffened. A moment later, a scowl formed, confusing the other people in the meeting.

" _Naruto_ …" Oh, he was going to get that bastard back for this…

* * *

 **The City of Vale**

Ruby munched happily on her dessert as she, Yang, and Naruto ate at a relatively expensive restaurant in the city. Naruto sat alone on one side of the booth while the sisters sat on the other. After taking another bite, she cast curious eyes to Naruto. "So, Uncle Naruto, you've been travelling around a lot?"

A small smile graced Naruto's lips. "Yeah, I've been doing it since before you two were born." He confirmed. "At this point, I think I've been to most regions of the world…With a few exceptions, of course."

"Why do you travel around?" Yang asked curiously. "Don't get me wrong, I love to travel, but you make it sound like it's all you have done for decades…Which I wouldn't be too surprised about, actually."

Naruto let a wistful smile stretch his lips. "I travel so much for a couple of reasons…For one, I never truly had much of a reason to stick to one place. Sure, I had a couple of friends here or there, but they all had their own lives that needed them to stay put. I didn't have ties like that…" _'Not anymore…'_

' _That's…kind of sad…'_ Ruby thought to herself. Not wanting him to focus on thoughts such as that, she quickly intervened. "That's not your only reason, right? You must also like to travel."

He nodded. "I enjoy seeing so many places, yeah. I first started to travel for an extended period of time when I was around your age, and it just stuck with me. I didn't get the chance to travel again for a while after that," _'As in a_ while _.'_ "but I did start again eventually."

"So what do you do when you travel?" Yang grimaced. "Is sightseeing all you do?"

Their uncle chuckled. "No way. I also help people out while I travel. Nothing too serious, but I sometimes stumble upon someone who needs an extra hand with something…Maybe a job to exterminate some local Grimm or even a guard for someone who is travelling through dangerous territories outside of the kingdoms."

The black and red haired girl gasped excitedly. "Then you must have had so many adventures! You _have_ to tell us about them!"

Naruto nodded lightly. "Sure, I don't mind. There are some stories that I think that you would like hearing…Like the ones that involve how I wound up fighting off some Grimm."

Yang shot him a curious glance. "So are you a huntsman too? You never really said…"

"Of course he is-"

"Nope." Ruby stopped short at Naruto's simple denial. Slowly, she turned to Naruto. Not understanding her reaction, Naruto shrugged. "What? I'm not."

"But…But you said that you've been all over the world! That you've had adventures! Helped people! Fought Grimm!"

Even if he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been able to completely hide his amusement. "Ruby, having adventures, travelling, and fighting Grimm aren't exclusive to huntsmen. Other people do it too." Naruto replied.

"Yeah, but it's not that normal unless you have some kind of job that involves it." Yang said. "Especially the fighting Grimm part."

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe so, but I'm still not a huntsman. I never even went to one of the schools as a student, only ever a visitor."

Yang gave him a suspicious look. "But that doesn't mean that you aren't strong…Actually, I'm willing to bet that you _are_ as strong as a huntsman."

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but…" Naruto said playfully. "I can hold my own well enough."

"Is that right?" Yang leaned forward. "Then can you fight evenly with…our dad?"

"Tai?" Naruto repeated. "I've never fought him personally, but I've seen him in action." He smirked. "Eh, he's nothing special." Yang laughed at the casual dismissal of their father.

"I'll be sure to tell him that you said that."

"You go and do that." Naruto shot back.

Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the ribbing that her dad was getting from her sister and new uncle. "Come on, guys. Dad is pretty strong, so don't act like he isn't." Both of the blonds waved her off.

"Nothing special." Naruto said again.

"Well if you don't think our dad is that good, then what about Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked. "Is _he_ something special?"

"Qrow, huh?" Naruto cupped his chin in thought. "Qrow is something else altogether…He acts like a lazy bastard who is nothing but a drunk, but we all know that isn't true…"

"So you don't think you would be able to win?" Ruby considered his words. "If you two fought, Uncle Qrow would beat you?"

Naruto shot her a wink. "I never said that. I only said that I wouldn't be able to treat him the same way as I would your father. I would still kick his butt."

Yang propped her head up with a hand. "You talk like you are super strong, but how do we know that you aren't bluffing?" She challenged.

"I guess that's just something you'll have to trust me with." Naruto said in a forlorn manner. "I hope that one day I will be able to convince you that as your new best uncle, I don't lie."

"Our new best uncle?" Yang's amusement was clear. "I don't know…Uncle Qrow has been pretty awesome so far. Do you seriously think that you can take his place?"

"Ha, Qrow's got nothing on how awesome I am." Naruto replied.

"If that's the case, then I look forward to seeing how you prove that." Yang quipped. "It will take a lot of effort on your part. I hope you're truly up to the task."

"Leave it to me. Give me a bit and you will _know_ that I'm a way better uncle." Naruto retorted. Smiling, he glanced between the two of them. "So, what about you two?"

They blinked and traded looks. "What about us?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"I told you a bit about myself, but you haven't told me about yourselves. Fair is fair, after all. I tell you something and you tell me something. We can go back and forth that way." He smirked at Ruby. "All I really know is that Ruby is…an extreme weapon enthusiast." He said delicately.

Although she wanted to shy away at being the one of the ones who were getting questioned, Ruby nodded. "Okay…" She traded a glance with Yang. "What do you want to know?"

Naruto hummed in thought. "…Actually, you know what? Let's do this a different way. We still haven't really introduced ourselves properly, have we? You guys don't even know my full name, so I think it would be a good idea for us to properly get that out of the way while sharing some basic information at the same time."

Ruby tilted her head in thought. "How do we do that…?" The grin on Naruto's face threatened to split it.

"The same way that I was told to do when this was presented to me. Each of us will share our names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future. Got it?" They both nodded in understanding. "Great, I'll start. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are ramen, foxes, the two nieces I just found out I have," Ruby beamed at this while Yang simply saluted. "and travelling. My dislikes are needless violence and people who look down on others. As you've probably guessed, my hobby is travelling. And my dream for the future…" He paused, confusing the girls. "I guess…I'm not too sure at the moment. I've done a lot of the things that I've wanted to do in life…"

A frown marred Ruby's face. "You _can't_ have no dreams for the future. There has to be something you want to do!" She insisted.

The elder blond chuckled at her attitude. "Maybe there is…But I sure as heck don't know what it is." He replied quietly. With a life like his, what was there left to do? His eyes slowly panned to Ruby and Yang. _'…'_

It was now Yang's turn to frown. "I don't believe you." She said simply. "There is no way that there isn't a single thing that you want to do in life."

Sighing, Naruto shrugged. "You'd be surprised." Recovering, he plastered a smile on his face and gestured to them. "If you want to know more about me, then keep up your side of this interaction. One of you introduce yourself now."

Blinking, Ruby grinned. "My name is Ruby Rose. I like roses, the color red, strawberries, weapons, Zwei, and my family!"

Yang slung an arm around Ruby in a hug. "D'aww! Love you too, sis!"

"Yang! Get off me!" Embarrassed, Ruby struggled out of her sister's grasp and glared at her with rosy cheeks. Seeing that Yang wasn't repentant in any way, she pouted and went on with her introduction. "My dislikes are being the center of attention, bad guys, and not being able to work on Crescent Rose…Oh, and school!" That last remark earned amused expressions from the two other occupants of the booth. "My dream for the future is to become the best huntress! Ever!" She declared.

"That's a pretty ambitious dream, but I don't doubt you're up for it…" Naruto's gaze shifted to Yang. "Your turn."

Yang grinned. "Saving the best for last? No problem, my name is Yang Xiao Long. My likes are the color yellow, having fun, my motorcycle, a good joke, and my family. _Especially_ my cute little sis!" Ruby let out a whine as she attempted to hide herself in her hood. "My dislikes are being bored, killjoys, school, and people who take advantage of others…I guess you can say that my dreams are to live life with no regrets…and to…" She paused, momentarily, as if debating what to say. "…Yeah…that's it."

Despite her not saying anything, Naruto could fill in the blanks using what Qrow told him and her body language. _'She's fixed on her mother's leaving…'_ Sighing internally, Naruto spoke up, making sure to mask his thoughts. "Nice to meet the both of you." He locked his silver eyes with Ruby's. "You said you wanted to be the best huntress ever? How come? I'm not saying that it's a dumb idea, but I'm just a bit curious…"

The moment the question left his lips, Ruby perked up while Yang adopted a mock-exasperated look. "I want to be a huntress so I can help people." Ruby answered. "I want be the person that people can reply on when they need someone to help them. To be the person who fights for what was right and saves the day! To me, _that_ is the best thing ever."

"The best huntress ever, huh?" Naruto said lightly. "You're going to need to work hard to do that…"

"I can do it." Ruby said. "I _will_ do it." She did her best to give him a determined look. There has been more than one occasion where people reacted with skepticism when she told them her dream.

Naruto stared at her for a minute before smirking. _'So much like them…'_ "I believe you…And I look forward to you proving it to everyone else." Ruby was caught off guard by his sudden acceptance of her dream, but she soon recovered with a brilliant smile.

"Thanks, Uncle Naruto…" She said quietly. "I won't let you down."

"Never even crossed my mind." Naruto said softly. "Now then, what ab-"

"Hey, hold up!" Yang interjected. "You said that you ask a question, and then we ask a question. Don't go breaking your own rules!"

Huffing a laugh, Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "You're right, you're right. Go ahead and ask me something."

Nodding, Yang crossed her arms. "How old are you?" She eyed him critically. "I _seriously_ doubt that you are around our dad and Uncle Qrow's age, so how old are you really?"

"Yang!" Ruby hissed. "You can't ask someone that!" Despite her own words, Ruby couldn't help but be a little curious about the answer.

"It's fine, Ruby." Yang said dismissively. "Now come on, tell us. You've apparently been travelling for a long time, and Uncle Qrow hinted that it's been over a decade since the last time he saw you…You also didn't know about either of us, but you are only blood related to Ruby, so I'm going to base this on her age…I'm going to guess that it has been at least fifteen years since you've been in Vale…" Her face scrunched up. "So how old? Thirty? Thirty-five? Forty? Even that much is pressing it because you hardly look twenty!"

The two watched as Naruto lowered his head to the point that his hair shadowed his eyes. Growing nervous at his silence, Ruby hesitantly spoke up. "U-Uncle Naruto?" She hedged. "I'm really sorry about Yang…She can be kind of blunt someti-"

"Hahaha!" Ruby was abruptly cut off by Naruto breaking out into laughter. Not expecting this, the younger sibling jumped in her seat while Yang simply quirked an eyebrow. Getting control of himself, Naruto flashed them a smile. "That's the next thing you want to know about me? My age?"

Pouting defiantly, Yang attempted to defend herself. "Hey, don't laugh like that, I'm serious! Uncle Qrow made it sound like you are some middle aged dude, but you don't look like that at all." She smirked again. "So come on, tell us. How old are you?"

Naruto pretended to think over the question. "Well, I suppose that I don't appear to be getting on in years with grey hair like Qrow does, huh?"

"Exactly!" Yang leaned forward. "Quit stalling!"

"Hmm…Nope, not saying!" Naruto beamed at her disgruntled look. "I'm just blessed with graceful aging…It actually runs in the family from my mother's side, but I admit that it's more obvious in me."

Ruby's attention was caught at the mention of it running in the family. "You said that you got it from your mom…Are we related from that side of the family? Does that mean that I'm going to look younger than my age?"

Quickly thinking over the best way to answer the question, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, my mother's maiden name is Uzumaki, and we are related through the Uzumaki clan…But distantly. I'm not sure how well the trait of retaining one's youthful appearance is in you." Ruby hummed in understanding. "As for you, Yang…" He turned back to her. "You can go ahead and wonder how old I really am, but I'm not going to be answering that question anytime soon. Not even your father or Qrow know my exact age."

Although clearly dissatisfied, Yang relented. "Fine…Don't tell us then…I get that some people are sensitive about their age once they get to a certain age." Her jab did not gain the intended results. Instead of becoming irritated and denying the accusation as Qrow would have done, Naruto shrugged.

"Whatever, I'm old. I don't have a problem with admitting that."

"Tch. Just ask your stupid question." Yang grumbled.

Naruto chuckled to himself, but complied. "Alright, how about this…I know from Qrow that Ruby uses a scythe, but what about you, Yang?" Yang wasn't expecting to be the target of his curiosity this time around. "What kind of weapon do you use?" His eyes trailed to the yellow bracelets she wore. "I assume that's it?"

An air of pride overtook Yang. "Yep! This is _my_ baby." Raising her arms, she activated the bracelets. The next moment, her forearms were encased in a pair of yellow gauntlets. "Say hello to Ember Cecilia! These beauties both power up my already power-packed punches _and_ act as a shotgun." Even though she wasn't as enthusiastic as Ruby when it came to weapons, Yang was _very_ partial to her own.

"Very nice…" Naruto said approvingly. "Then I can only guess that you're a close range melee type…And Ruby is something of a speed type, going off of how fast she is." He propped his head up on his hand. "It amazes me that you both managed to create those weapons yourself. I could hardly sharpen a blade without cutting myself when I was a teenager." He jested. Both Ruby and Yang soaked up the praise, but Ruby in particular seemed to glow with happiness at his words.

"What? You bad with weapons or something?" Yang asked.

"Hmm…Am I bad with them?" Naruto repeated. "I wouldn't say that…More along the lines of it takes me some time to get used to one. For the longest time, I only knew how to fight with nothing but hand to hand tactics. Sure, I could use small knives and other daggers, or even some shuriken, but nothing extreme like a sword…It wasn't until I was nearly seventeen that I began to branch out a bit and experiment."

This instantly served as enough to catch Ruby's attention. "Branch out? Branch out with what? What kind of weapon do you use?"

Naruto considered the question. "I've used a lot of different weapon types, but I'm still the most comfortable with close range weapons. Give me a dagger or a sword and I'm happy."

Something about his wording made Yang frown. "Wait…Uncle Naruto, do you not have a weapon of your own?" She asked incredulously, earning a gasp from Ruby.

"Of course he does! After everything he's said he does, how could he _not_ have a weapon?! I mean, that would be cr-"

"If we're not counting normal kunai, then nope."

"What?!" Ruby yelled, only to blush when the other people in the restaurant turned questioning and annoyed gazes to her. "Sorry…!" She whispered. Seeing that they went back to what they were doing, Ruby glared at the snickering Yang, but addressed Naruto. "Uncle Naruto, you only have kunai as your weapons? _How_ is that enough?"

The elder blond looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Ruby, you're forgetting that I'm not a huntsman. I'm not required to be armed with any fancy weapon in any way." His demeanor became a bit smug. "Besides, I already said I'm awesome. Do you seriously think that I need a weapon?" He scoffed in a playfully haughty manner. "I'm more than strong enough to make do without one."

Despite her thoughts, Ruby couldn't help but giggle at the man. "But you _have_ to have a weapon. How do you fight Grimm without one?"

"I already said I'm fine with just my kunai." Naruto defended. "Those are more than enough. If anything, then I add in some shuriken and I'm fine."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak again, but Yang beat her to it. "Oh really?" There was something challenging in her tone, and both Ruby and Naruto noticed it. "Then you won't mind putting your money where your mouth is."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow at her. "What did you have in mind?"

"How about the three of us get out of here and you can _prove_ that you're really all that with nothing but some kunai and shuriken." Yang challenged. "You can do it by having a spar against one of us."

That didn't sound like a good idea. "Yang, I don't know if that is a goo-"

"Come on, it'll be fine!" Yang waved him off. "Don't worry about it."

A grimace appeared on Naruto's face. "You say that, but _I'm_ the one who will need to deal with Taiyang if anything happened to you." She winced at the reminder. "Exactly."

Swallowing nervously, Yang tried again. "Forget about dad…As long as we don't take things too far, he'll never know." She nodded to herself with a grin. "It's perfect!"

"No, it's not…" Naruto deadpanned. Looking to Ruby, he questioned her. "What about you? What do you think of this?"

"Um…" Ruby's eyes flicked between the two of them. "I kind of…want to spar with you?" She gave him a hesitant smile.

"Seriously?" Naruto muttered. Taking in Yang's grin and Ruby's shy hope, Naruto sighed. Yang was about to pump a fist in victory, but Naruto pinned her with a stare. "…Fine, but _you_ will be explaining it to your father if he asks. I'm not sure if he would be against it or not, but I don't want to be the one yelled at if he is."

She grimaced a bit, but saluted. "You got it."

"Good…But I don't think we will be able to find a place to do this…"

Immediately, Ruby started to bounce in her seat. "Signal has a few rooms where people can spar!"

Naruto frowned. "But wouldn't that defeat the purpose of doing this without your dad finding out?" She shook her head.

"It's nearing the end of the school term and it's the last Friday of the month, so he is probably stuck in a meeting. The faculty normally holds them monthly, but they always take a lot longer around this time of year." Ruby checker her scroll. "Yep, I'm pretty sure he will be in there for a while longer."

"Wonderful." Naruto muttered sarcastically. Finding no further excuse, he decided to make himself at least feel a little better as they left. Smirking widely, he pulled out Taiyang's wallet. After making sure to leave a very generous tip, he got up. "Come on, let's get going then."

* * *

 **Signal Academy**

Since he was still slightly reluctant, Naruto was a bit annoyed that it didn't take much effort for the three of them to find an empty room that was made for spars. Now that they were there, he was standing across from an eager Yang while Ruby sat on a bench off to the side. "Yang, I honestly don't see the point of us doing thi-"

"Quit stalling! You're fighting, and that's that!" She shouted. Getting into a fighting stance, she activated Ember Cecilia. "Now take out a knife or kunai or whatever and get ready!"

"What's this? This looks interesting…" The sudden inclusion of a new voice caught Ruby and Yang off guard, prompting both of them to snap their heads around to see an amused Qrow standing by the entrance. "Yang wants to fight Naruto? How come?"

"Because she wants to see if my claims to strength are true." Naruto drawled. Hearing this, Qrow couldn't help but snort. "Don't laugh, jerk. I'd rather not do this…"

Qrow fished out his flask and took a swig. "Too bad. I don't think Yang is going to let this one go…"

"You know it."

"So you may as well go with it." Qrow smirked. "In fact, why not make this more interesting? Ruby!" The girl jolted in surprise at the unexpected shout. "Get in there! You and Yang against Naruto!" Ruby bit her lip, but did as he instructed.

Naruto glared at him. "You're not helping."

The smirk on his face only grew at Naruto's words. "Never intended to."

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting or something?" Naruto shot back.

"Yeah, I am…But I'm not." Qrow walked over to the now vacated bench and plopped down on it. "Now then, be sure to give me a good show! You girls try not to get your butts handed to you too badly!"

Yang pouted at Qrow. "Come on, Uncle Qrow. Don't you have any faith in us?"

Qrow shrugged. "Sure I do. If you two were up against any of the students here, I would bet on you in a heartbeat…Probably. But against an adult? Someone like Naruto?" He shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Tch. Then I guess we'll need to prove to you that we can do this! Are you ready, Ruby?!"

Deciding to just go with it, Ruby took Crescent Rose off her back and shifted it into scythe mode. "Ready!"

Sighing again, Naruto reluctantly took out a kunai and held it in one hand in the way that one would hold the hilt of a sword. "Ready…" Yang frowned at his choice of weapon, but didn't say anything. He had said that he uses kunai, after all.

Seeing that everyone had their weapon of choice out, Qrow nodded. "Then on my signal…Three. Two. One. Fight!"

Instantly, Ruby blurred towards him with a trail of rose petals in her wake. Keeping a blank face, Naruto side stepped the simple slash of her scythe, allowing the girl to go by him. Blinking in surprise, Ruby whirled around and came at him from behind with a follow-up attack, but was met with the same result. Frowning now, Ruby fired a round and used the recoil to propel herself to a faster pace.

Although he smiled at the method she used to quickly maneuver around, Naruto kept pace with her and ducked out of the way of each one of her attacks. The more he avoided her, the deeper Ruby's frown became. Eventually, she vanished completely into rose petals, only to reappear behind him with her scythe streaking towards his back.

However, Ruby's eyes widened in shock when the kunai in Naruto's hand came up and stopped her scythe cold. "What?" She whispered in disbelief.

"You really _are_ fast." Naruto complimented with a smile. "That must be your semblance then…"

"Don't forget about me!" Naruto's smile grew as he jumped back, narrowly missing Yang's attack that came from above.

"It's a good idea for you to attack me while I'm preoccupied with Ruby, but it wasn't smart of you to announce your attack like that, Yang." He chided, gaining a glower from the younger blond. "Now try again." He smirked. "Come at me with the intent to do harm, or you don't have a chance of landing a single hit on me."

Rising to the challenge, Yang charged at Naruto with a reared fist. Using punching at Naruto, Yang hit nothing but air when he simply stepped to the side. Not letting this deter her in the least, Yang launched into a fast paced combo, but got nothing but the same results. Soon, she started to growl as her frustration raised. "Why. Don't. You. Sit. Still?!"

"None of your opponents will ever simply _sit still_." Naruto replied. "There will be times that you face someone who has some advantage over you. It could be that they are stronger than you, faster than you, smarter than you, more experienced than you, has a longer range than you, or even a combination…But there is often a simple way to get around that." Suddenly, he grinned and jumped to the side. The next second, a large scythe impacted the floor where he had been standing. "And that's by using teamwork."

Ruby and Yang stared at him warily. After a minute, they glanced to each other and nodded, and then at the same time, they rushed him. Naruto ducked under the swipe of Ruby's scythe, only to be forced to roll to the side so he wouldn't meet Yang's fist. Springing back to his feet, he grinned as the sisters attacked him from either side. _'They work well enough together…'_ No doubt their father and Qrow's doing.

Eventually, it was Yang's temper that broke first when the girl decided to step up the stakes and shoot a shotgun blast at Naruto. Unfortunately for her, Naruto had been anticipating such a thing and was ready to deflect her arm up towards the ceiling. "That could hurt a person if you're not careful." He taunted, further aggravating the girl.

"Ugh, take this seriously!" She demanded as she moved in close to try to finally land a hit on him.

"Hmm…No, not yet." Naruto spun around Ruby to get to her side. Ignoring the startled yelp from the girl, he stuck out a foot and made her trip into her sister.

"Whoa-Ruby?!"

"I'm sorry!"

Chuckling, Naruto waited for the two of them to pick themselves off the floor. "You guys work well enough together, but there is still obvious room for improvement…" He tilted his head. "Are you guys done already?"

Glaring, Yang balled her hands into fists. "Not on your life." Not saying another word, she sprinted at him. At the same moment, Ruby dashed to get behind him.

Naruto was sure to withhold a frown when he saw this. _'Do they not have any other tactics? Maybe I gave them too much credit.'_ Deciding to prove a point, Naruto pumped some chakra to his arms and lashed both hands out, making Ruby gasp in surprise and Yang scowl. With one hand, Naruto stopped Yang's attack in its tracks by catching her fist, while with the other he did the same to Ruby's scythe by blocking it with his kunai again. "Is that really all you guys have to how me? Attacking from different angles?" He sighed. "That isn't good enough."

Yang glared and brought her other fist back in preparation to punch him, but she never got the chance to. "What are you doing?" All three of them froze at the voice. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the entrance, only to see a frowning Taiyang standing there.

Grimacing, Naruto released Yang's fist and lowered his kunai. "Hey, Tai…We were just sparring a bit."

Taiyang's eyes swept over them. "Yes, I can see that…" He appeared to struggle with himself, but he soon sighed. "At least come and get me next time before you start…"

All three of them blinked in surprise at his words. "You're…not against this?" Naruto asked. He wasn't too surprised, but he got the impression that Taiyang was _very_ protective of his daughters…But then again, he only had the small interaction from earlier to go off of.

"Why would I be mad?" Taiyang questioned. "Sparring is normal for students here. I'm not against it."

Naruto frowned. "Then why did you seem angry a second ago?"

"Because no one bothered to get me!" Taiyang repeated. "This is something I would like to see!"

"Oh, I get you." Rolling his eyes, Naruto put away his kunai. "We'll be sure to do so next time, but this fight was pretty much over. I was actually about to wrap things up." Taiyang let out a disappointed sound at this.

Yang huffed and crossed her arms. "There was nothing much to see, dad…We couldn't land a single hit on Uncle Naruto."

A snort from the sidelines drew their attention. "Why are you surprised about that?" Qrow asked. "Did you seriously think that you would be able to do anything against him?"

"I thought that we would at least be able to touch him!"

Ruby jumped up and down excitedly. "You are _awesome_ , Uncle Naruto! You're so fast! Do you have a speed semblance too?!" Smiling at the excited girl, Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but Qrow beat him to it.

"Nah, Naruto is just naturally really fast. Although he _can_ boost his speed slightly by using his semblance." He called over.

"Then what _is_ your semblance?" Yang's curiosity was obvious in her tone. "If it's not speed, then what?"

Naruto shrugged. "This." Raising a hand, he aimed a finger at her. The moment he did this, a light breeze swept through the room, making Yang's hair sway. It had taken him a long time to become this advanced with his natural chakra affinity, but Naruto had nothing but time. It also came in handy for times like this when people asked him about a semblance.

"Wind?" Ruby tilted her head. "Your semblance gives you control over wind?"

"Exactly." Naruto agreed. "I can create anything from a gentle breeze to a harsh gale, but that is obviously more tiring." He lowered his arm, allowing the breeze to die down.

"But how does that make you move faster?" That didn't make any sense to Yang. How could wind possibly lead to a speed increase? "Do you just blast a bunch of wind behind you?"

A chuckle escaped from Naruto's throat. "That's not practical, so no. What I do to increase my speed is I alter the airflow around my body to make myself have less resistance. Added to that, I create currents that _boost_ my speed…So in part, yes, a tailwind is created when I need one." He smirked. "That's not all it can do…But let's not go into that right now."

Yang hummed in appreciation. "Sounds pretty neat." She complimented.

"I like to think so." Naruto replied. "Now then, shall we go over the fight?" Yang and Ruby winced. "Where to begin…?"

"How about saying that they suck?"

"Not helping, Qrow." Naruto called back. "You two didn't _suck_ , you were just up against a stronger opponent…But yeah, there could be improvement."

Ruby hung her head in defeat. "Like what?"

"First, let's talk about the good things I saw. You both fight well for your age, and your fighting style work for your builds and weapon choices. On top of that, you can fight together without messing one another up…Unless your opponent does it intentionally. Attacking from two fronts is a solid tactic, but is that all you were planning to do?"

Their expressions gave them away.

"Figured as much…" Naruto sighed. "That won't always work, you know. As you saw today, if you are against a person who has enough experience, speed, and strength, then you would be defeated right then and there."

Yang frowned. "Then how do we get around that?"

Naruto smiled at her. "By attempting to outsmart and outmaneuver me. Ruby, you could have used your speed to keep me dodging and moving to the point that I was in the right position for Yang to come in and attack me. Or Yang, you could have attacked me to the point that I needed to focus on you or else risk getting hit. Once I was blocking your attacks, Ruby could have zipped in and landed a bunch of smaller hits on me. Instead of doing that, you both attacked me together and went for the heavier hits. I admit that what you did today may have worked on some opponents, but there will always be someone where you can't brute force your way through." He glanced between them. "Understand?"

"Yeah…"

"We got it…"

"Good." Naruto said in approval. "But besides that, you two did great." They perked up and looked at him. "Wonderful job, girls. The amount of work you must have put in is obvious. You should be proud." They smiled.

"Thanks, Uncle Naruto!" Ruby chirped.

Yang nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

"Not a problem. If you want to spar again, just tell me. I don't mind giving a few pointers again." Naruto told them. It's been a while since he was in a position that he helped someone train…

Qrow got to his feet and walked over to them. "That went about as well as I expected it would." He commented. "Just as entertaining too."

Taiyang glared lightly at him. "Don't be like that. There wasn't really any way that they could have beaten Naruto."

"Doesn't stop it from being fun to watch." Qrow retorted. "The only thing funnier today was the way that Naruto made you pay for whatever they did while in Vale." His smirk grew to new proportions as he said this. He had seen the whiskered blond pocket the wallet, but chose to stay quiet.

Immediately, Taiyang's head snapped around to see an unrepentant Naruto. "Oh yeah, that _did_ happen, didn't it?"

Naruto smiled at him. "Don't worry, Taiyang. We only stopped by one place and the bill wasn't even forty Lien." He paused as if a thought came to him. "Oh…But then you _did_ leave that waitress a sixty Lien tip. That was very nice of you." While Ruby only giggled with an apologetic expression, Qrow and Yang had no problems laughing out loud.

" _Naruto!_ "

"Next time, don't sell me out to my nieces!"

* * *

 **There we go! All done with Chapter 4!**

 **I'm still deciding Naruto's exact strength in the story, but nobody has a problem with the way I made him easily beat Ruby and Yang, right? If you do, then I think you're gonna have a bad time while reading this. I'm of course going to do my best to not make him just walk in and beat everyone/everything, but he** _ **is**_ **stronger.**

 **Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Kog6943**


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